Mental health inpatient services Darwin: 24-bed unit progresses as gov’t defends worst-in-nation label
The government has defended its investment in mental health services as it touts its new $57.7m inpatient unit at the RDH.
Politics
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Foundation works at the Royal Darwin Hospital’s new $57.7m, 24-bed mental health ward are nearing completion, with the project forecast to accept its first patients in 2025.
The three-storey facility will include 18 mental health inpatient beds and an additional six stabilisation and referral beds, which will provide “short-term care in a therapeutic environment for mental health clients who present to the emergency department,” the government said in a statement.
It will also feature an elevated, enclosed walkway across Nightingale Rd connecting the unit to the emergency department.
The main building’s pad, pier footings and retaining walls for the ground slab are now 90 per cent completion
The project update comes as the NT government defends its record of investment in Territorians’ mental health, with the jurisdiction continuing to hold the dubious honour of having the lowest proportion of public mental health beds in Australia.
According to the Australian Medical Association’s 2023 Public Hospital Report Card, since 1992–93, the number of mental health beds has tumbled from a rate of 24.7 per 100,000 residents to 17.3 while, since 2004–05, the rate of mental health-related emergency department presentations per 10,000 head of population has soared from 132.6 to 282.
There are currently just 46 mental health inpatient beds in the Territory’s public health system.
Chief Psychiatrist Dr David Mitchell, who visited the Sitzler construction site on Wednesday alongside Chief Minister Eva Lawler and Health Minister Selena Uibo, said overwhelmed mental health services were a “perennial issue that has existed for many decades,” and not just in the Territory.
“I wouldn’t want to apportion blame – all we can do is be forward thinking,” he said.
“These additional 24 beds may be able to solve some of the issues we are having around resourcing.”
Ms Uibo said statistics about public mental health beds “don’t always tell the true story of the Territory”.
She said the jurisdiction’s large area combined with tiny population created additional logistic “complexities”.
Ms Lawler said her government was investing about $107m in capital works at the Royal Darwin Hospital in 2024–25.
Other projects include a new 32-bed multipurpose ward and a $22.6m upgrade to the forensic mortuary, pathology and bereavement facility.
“Territorians deserve the best healthcare – that is why we are upgrading our infrastructure so Territorians can have access to top quality healthcare facilities,” she said.
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