- 12-bed specialist inpatient care for youths aged 16 to 24 years
- New unit to treat vulnerable young people experiencing acute mental health problems
- Open seven days a week, 24 hours a day for assessment and treatment
- Reflects the McGowan Government's commitment to improve mental health services
Health and Mental Health Minister Roger Cook today opened the new East Metropolitan Youth Unit (EMyU) to further boost mental health treatment services to better support young Western Australians.
The unit will provide an appropriate environment for the treatment of vulnerable young patients by specifically trained staff in a purpose-built, clinically suitable, state-of-the-art facility.
The EMyU has 12 beds - three of which offer secure care. It is a dedicated service for young people aged 16 to 24 years who present with complex and acute mental health issues, and provides inpatient care, treatment and assessment.
It also offers community care planning to assist young people and their families to access necessary support prior to discharge.
The multidisciplinary staff team are focused on helping youths who experience severe mental health problems including psychosis, depression, severe anxiety, post-traumatic stress, risk of self-harm or suicide and emerging personality disorder.
The McGowan Labor Government has continued to make funding for mental health, alcohol and other drug issues a priority to help the health and wellbeing of Western Australians.
The new unit complements the McGowan Government's commitment to support the needs of young people in the midst of a mental health crisis, and builds on a range of specialised mental health services already available. These include a 14-bed youth unit at Fiona Stanley Hospital, an eight-bed youth hospital-in-the-home in Perth's northern suburbs and 20 beds at the new mental health unit at Perth Children's Hospital.
The East Metropolitan Youth Unit will tailor its model of care to ensure the specific needs of young people are being met. 16 to 24 year-olds were recently recognised as an emerging age group requiring dedicated mental health services.
The EMyU will offer specialist mental health care that focuses on early intervention, diagnostic clarification and age-specific management.
As noted by Health and Mental Health Minister Roger Cook:
"Helping the most vulnerable people in our society is a core principle of the McGowan Government so opening this unit, which provides specialised care for young people experiencing a mental health crisis, is an extremely important addition to the range of mental health services offered in the community.
"This new service ensures we meet the specific needs of these young people, all the staff are highly trained and the unit will be open 24 hours, seven days a week.
"Seventy-five per cent of mental health problems start before the age of 25 so if we can get in early and help young people by providing appropriate care, we have an opportunity to dramatically improve their mental health outcomes so they can go on to lead happy and productive lives."
As noted by Cannington MLA Bill Johnston:
"Youth mental health is an important area, and I'm proud that the McGowan Government has been able to expand the number of beds available.
"This will have a positive impact on outcomes for young people in our community."
