- The McGowan Government is committed to increasing mental health services in regional Western Australia
- Community mental health step up/step down service being established for people in the Mid-West
- The new 10-bed community mental health step up/step down service is anticipated to open in Geraldton in 2021
The McGowan Government is working to deliver its election commitment for a community mental health step up/step down service for the Mid-West region.
An existing State Government site, the former Geraldton Sobering Up Centre, will be repurposed to provide a new community mental health service – $5.93 million has been committed in capital funding over the next three years.
The transformation will offer short-term residential individualised care for people either following discharge from hospital, and/or for people living in the community who are experiencing a change in their mental health to avoid a possible hospitalisation.
Community mental health step up/step down services aim to support people living in the community by providing a range of support programs and activities within a residential style setting, by offering additional support for the individual to manage a change in their mental health and being closer to the support from family and friends.
The service will benefit people already living in the Mid-West by providing an additional service that will be delivered through a partnership between a non-government service provider and the local mental health service.
One in five Australians will be affected by a mental health issue each year and the vast majority of those people receive their care while living and working in their community, among their family and friends.
More regional community mental health step up/step down services are planned for Bunbury, Kalgoorlie, Karratha and Broome.
Step up/step down services are currently operational in Joondalup (22-bed), Rockingham (10-bed) and Albany (six-bed).
