NT’s first private mental health facility week away from completion

THE construction of Northern Territory’s first private mental health facility is almost complete

• Lack of mental health beds at RDH causing ‘extreme pressure’ and creating danger for staff
• Consultation for Darwin’s new multimillion-dollar Adult Mental Health Centre gets started

THE construction of the Northern Territory’s first private mental health facility is just a week away from completion at Darwin Private Hospital.

The $16m Mental Health Alcohol and other Drugs unit, which will initially have 18 beds, is on track to be fully ­operational by February.

MORE TOP NEWS

CHO still confident Sydneysiders can come to NT following outbreak

Police strike force to tackle spiralling youth crime wave

Darwin and Palmerston experience record low rates of crime

Darwin Private Hospital general manager Dr Jo Seiler said the new mental health unit would provide much-needed access to private ­inpatient treatment in the Territory. “We identified a huge demand in the community for mental health support because there’s a big gap in what’s available at the ­moment,” she said.

Darwin Private Hospital general manager Dr Jo Seiler in front of the hospital’s new mental health unit where construction works are almost done. Picture GLENN CAMPBELL

“In Darwin, 38 per cent of the population has private health insurance, but before now many patients have had to be transferred interstate for treatment, travelling long ­distances.

“The closest private facility is currently in Cairns.”

The number of dedicated mental health beds in Darwin at present is three times less than in other cities of comparable size like Cairns and Hobart.

There are 31 mental health beds at the Royal Darwin Hospital and 20 beds in Alice Springs.

The NT News revealed last month that a lack of beds at RDH’s psychiatric inpatient unit forced 14 mental health patients, some of whom were “highly volatile”, to be cared for in the emergency department and other parts of the hospital.

An artist impression of Darwin Private Hospital's new $16 million Mental Health Unit. Picture: Supplied

Australian Medical Association NT president Dr Rob Parker said the lack of mental health beds in the Territory was putting a significant strain on the public health system.

“The Territory has the highest rate of psychiatric-­related presentations in the country per capita, but one of the lowest numbers of mental health beds,” he said.

Dr Seiler said the new unit at Darwin Private Hospital would have the capacity to treat more than 5000 patients in its first year of operation, providing a much-needed service to the community.

“This will be the NT’s first private mental health and AOD unit, and it’s designed to accommodate further expansion,” she said.

“We envisage that in time the facility could grow to a 60-bed inpatient unit, the ­biggest of its kind in the ­Territory.”

LIMITED TIME: New NT News subscription offer: $1 a week for the first 12 weeks

Dr Seiler said the purpose-built facility would be offering both inpatient and outpatient services.

It comes as new Commonwealth figures show the ­nation is in the grip of a mental health emergency alongside the pandemic, with more than one million Australians seeking help since the coronavirus outbreak began.

Follow @tashemeck