The Gold Coast region’s mental health care capabilities will be improved in due course, with construction work nearing on a 40-bed mental health facility designed by dwp.
Titled the Secure Mental Health Rehabilitation Unit (SMHRU), the Unit will be located at Gold Coast University Hospital. The Queensland Government has announced Watpac Constructions has won the tender to construct the building.
dwp Health Sector Leader Ron Bridgefoot, Project Lead Neil Carter and a team of dwp architects have been working over the last year with Metro South Health and Queensland Government Health to research contemporary best practice, engage with stakeholders, design and develop this major innovation in secure mental health facilities.
Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Youth Affairs, Meaghan Scanlon, says the Palaszczuk Government is looking to create appropriate facilities to assist those who struggle with mental illness.
“The facility will be built across two floors and provide secure services to support people with severe and complex mental health disorders in their recovery,” she says.
“Importantly, it’s been developed with the help of people with lived mental health experiences and carers, including in the development of cultural guidance, delivery of services and adoption of recovery-oriented practices.
“This is one of many health projects the Palaszczuk Government has committed on the Gold Coast, with the most recent budget delivering a massive capital injection of $1.388 billion for health infrastructure on the Gold Coast which will deliver an extra 608 beds in addition to the SMHRU.”
SMHRU will be operated in partnership with Metro South Health, boosting mental health rehabilitation services within the region. The QLD Government has increased funding for Gold Coast healthcare by 9.6 percent in the past year, taking the total to $1.944 billion.
dwp says it looks forward to working with Watpac on the project and its subsequent evolution from design to high quality built public health facility.
Completion of the SMHRU is slated for 2024.
