Words from Russell – Update on transition of mental health services

I would like to welcome Paula Stephenson, our new Director of Transition and Integration Mental Health and Wellbeing Services, who starts at Western Health today. In this new role, Paula will help lead the planning and implementation of the transition of mental health services to Western Health for a go live of 1 July 2023.

The transition will see Mid West Area Mental Health Services (currently part of Royal Melbourne Hospital’s NorthWestern Mental Health) and Mercy Mental Health services based within the City of Maribyrnong become part of Western Health from 1 July 2023. Paula will help Western Health, Mid West Area Mental Health Services and Mercy Mental Health coordinate the transition, working closely with our partners, consumers, carers and families.

Paula comes to us from the Department of Health’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Division where she focused on the delivery of service reform resulting from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. Please join me in giving her a warm welcome, as always.

Sunshine Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre takes shape

Construction of the new Sunshine Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre is progressing well. We anticipate the centre will start operations in July 2023.

The 52-bed centre is the largest of four new facilities that will deliver an additional 144 mental health beds across the state, delivering on a key interim recommendation of the Royal Commission. The centre will increase acute mental health bed capacity – giving people experiencing mental illness access to treatment in a modern, safe and high-quality setting.

Those based at Sunshine Hospital can see the modular construction going up with approximately 300 modules installed following prefabrication in Pakenham.

The project is being delivered jointly by NorthWestern Mental Health and Western Health. For more information, visit Westerly.

Name change and early transfer of Ursula Frayne Centre to Mid West Area Mental Health Service

Finally, I wanted to provide a quick update on the name change and early transfer of the Ursula Frayne Centre from Mercy Mental Health to Mid West Area Mental Health Service (currently part of NorthWestern Mental Health). The Ursula Frayne Centre is a 16-bed adult acute mental health ward operated by Mercy Mental Health and located within Footscray Hospital.

Mercy Mental Health made the decision to close the Ursula Frayne Centre in early August due to experiencing an ongoing shortage of consultant psychiatrists. Mercy Mental Health consolidated its adult acute mental health beds and redeployed staff to the Clare Moore Building (Werribee). In mid-September, the Secretary of the Department of Health endorsed the early transfer of Ursula Frayne Centre from Mercy Health to Mid West Area Mental Health Service. From 1 July 2023, the governance and operation of Ursula Frayne Centre will permanently transition to Western Health.

Melbourne Health has indicated that the centre will now be named the Western Inpatient Psychiatric Unit (WIPU) and will re-open by mid-November as a women’s mental health ward.

Russell Harrison
Chief Executive