Northern Health re-opened its mental health division’s Ward 7 this month, making it the third largest mental health unit in Victoria.
The ward, established when the hospital opened in 1998, will now be a 25-bed inpatient unit for women aged 18 to 65, who require hospital-based care due to acute deterioration of current mental illness, or acute exacerbation of chronic mental illness that cannot be managed in the community.
It will be the first women’s mental health unit in the northern catchment area.
The unit’s workforce includes 59 staff from many disciplines including nursing, social work, occupational therapy, consultant psychiatry, psychology, admin and lived experience.
Northern Health mental health executive director Belinda Scott said the unit was a major stepping stone, moving towards a future in delivering specialised and holistic care.
“Here at Northern Hospital Epping, we have 80 adult mental health beds – this is the largest number of public mental health beds on a single site in Victoria,” she said.
“This creates an opportunity to do things differently, to move towards specialist care not just for women but for all consumers using Northern Health Mental Health services. This marks the first step in transforming care.”
Ms Scott the ward was a space for healing, focusing on patient centred care.
“The Royal Commission asked us to think about what transformation looks like, and I think as a team, we’re really focused on transforming healthcare.”
