Federal Opposition leader Bill Shorten pledges mental health unit in Launceston if elected

Federal Opposition leader Bill Shorten has promised $15 million to build a new mental health hub and 25-bed unit in Tasmania, if Labor wins the upcoming election.

The new mental health unit would be built near Launceston General Hospital.

FEDERAL Opposition leader Bill Shorten has promised $15 million to build a new mental health hub and 25-bed unit in Launceston, if Labor wins the upcoming election.

The hub would be built close to the Launceston General Hospital and replace the Northside ward, Mr Shorten announced in Tasmania on this morning.

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The hub would provide acute care and facilities for group care, day programs and outreach services.

Mr Shorten said the plan builds on Labor’s proposal to give North and North-West Tasmania 24/7 access to stroke-specialists as part of a scheme to roll out telehealth technology to regional hospitals across the country.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has promised $15 million to build a new mental health hub and 25-bed unit in Launceston, if Labor wins the upcoming election. Picture: KYM SMITH

Sites near the current hospital, within the Launceston Health Precinct, would be considered for the new hub.

Labor has also committed an extra $30 million to halve the state’s elective surgery backlog, $4.5 million to restore Tazreach — a program bringing specialists to regional areas of the state — and $1 million new reproductive health hub.

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Mr Shorten told reporters the announcement was part of “the next stage” of Labor’s health plan to provide more funding for specialist support.

He said the Medicare cancer care package announced in his budget reply on Thursday had “put some hope back into the system”.