Miles Doing What Matters: More mental healthcare and beds for Queenslanders

•  The new $14 million Crisis Stabilisation Unit at The Prince Charles Hospital has been unveiled.  
• It will provide short term mental health support for stays up to three days, and can accommodate 12 patients at a time.
• To staff the new unit, the workforce will be boosted with an additional 60 health workers including medical, nursing and allied health professionals have been recruited to support its operation.
• It will welcome patients from mid-September.

The Premier and Minister for Health and Mental Health have unveiled a new short-stay facility at The Prince Charles Hospital (TPCH) to provide care for those experiencing a mental health crisis.

The new $14m Crisis Stabilisation Unit (CSU) at TPCH will open its doors to its first patients on 16 September.

The new CSU includes a six-bed short stay unit, where patients can receive specialised and intensive mental health crisis care for up to 3 days.

Another six patients can be supported in the centre’s CSU for stays up to 23 hours, which provides a trauma-informed and therapeutic space for acute mental health assessment and treatment, with their carers and support people.

This model of care means people can access support that better meets their needs, provided in a therapeutic environment by both clinicians and peer workers with similar lived experience. 

Located next to the hospital’s busy emergency department, the new 24/7 facility will provide an alternative to the busy emergency department for people experiencing a mental health crisis.

The new CSU will help the Metro North Hospital and Health Service address some of the recommendations passed down as part of an independent Health Service Investigation into the mental health adult inpatient unit at The Prince Charles Hospital.

A new full-time workforce of 60 multidisciplinary positions will support the new CSU, including medical, nursing, allied health professionals, lived experience workforce, administration, Indigenous mental health workers, security, and operational staff.

The new unit is part of the Miles Government’s $1.948 billion Better Care Together Plan to improve mental health, alcohol and other drug services.

Quotes attributable to Premier Steven Miles:

“My government has a strong record on delivering more mental health services for Queenslanders.

“It was this government that introduced the Mental Health Levy and are using those critical funds to scale up services that support Queenslanders living with mental illness and prevent suicide.

“The new Crisis Stabilisation Unit at The Prince Charles Hospital will increase mental health capacity at the hospital, while providing vulnerable Queenslanders with the targeted care they need.

“I will always do what matters to improve the health outcomes of Queenslanders.”

 Quotes attributable to Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Services Shannon Fentiman:

 “The Miles Government understands that mental health does not discriminate and touches the lives of so many families right across the state.

“It’s why this investment is so important to ensure Queenslanders experiencing mental health crisis can get the care and treatment they need, closer to home.

“This state-of-the-art Crisis Stabilisation Unit will provide expert care and treatment for our community, thanks to our team of specialist clinical and support workers.

“Mental health crisis touches the lives of families everywhere and this new facility will help meet the growing demand for mental health services on Brisbane’s northside.

“The new facility is in addition to our $8 million investment for the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital’s Psychiatric Emergency Centre announced earlier this year.

“This is in stark contract to the LNP, whose only legacy for mental health was to shut down the Barrett Adolescent Centre.

“They have also consistently attacked our national leading mental health levy that funds critical mental health services across the state.

“Last time the LNP was in government they sacked 1,432 frontline health workers from Metro North, including 731 nurses, and if given the chance the LNP would cut the mental health levy and the critical services it provides.”

Quotes attributable to the Mental Health Commissioner, Ivan Frkovic:

 “A safe, calm and welcoming space that offers comfort and care provides better outcomes for people in distress.”

“Unlike busy EDs which focus on physical and medical emergencies, crisis stabilisation units are purposefully designed to provide a therapeutic and supportive environment for people experiencing a mental health crisis.”

“We know that crisis stabilisation units reduce emergency department presentations and hospital admissions, and better support people and their families, carers and kin.”

“Expanding alternative opportunities for support is a key action under Every life Phase Two, the Queensland Government’s suicide prevention plan.”

 Quotes attributable to the Member for Stafford, Jimmy Sullivan MP:

 “The new $14m Crisis Stabilisation Unit at The Prince Charles Hospital continues our record spend and investment in health.

“The Prince Charles Hospital is an institution of Stafford, and the expansion of services including the CSU is a testament to the world class treatment delivered by our hardworking Doctors, Nurses and staff.

“I am proud to be a part of a Government that is delivering what matters for Northsider’s.”

 Quotes attributable to the Member for Aspley, Bart Melish MP:

 “This will be a great addition to health services on the northside.

“The Miles Government is delivering the health care and health services that a growing state needs, with state of the art facilities and a holistic approach.”

“I’m proud to be part of a government that prioritises health care for everyone.”

Quotes attributable to Metro North Health Chief Operating Officer, Jane Hancock:

“Emergency departments can be busy and overwhelming places for consumers in mental health distress.

"This new facility will provide a practical alternative that gives these consumers a more therapeutic space to receive the care they need. In doing that, it will also help free up space in the emergency department.

"This new facility was developed using a co-design approach, informed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members, mental health clinicians, and consumers with lived experience of mental health crisis.”

ENDS