Dear Minister,

Re – New Older People’s Mental Health Unit at Modbury

I am writing to congratulate you on the allocation in yesterday’s budget to rebuild the older people’s acute mental health unit, currently at Lyell McEwen Hospital at Modbury Hospital. This is an important investment in older people who are particularly vulnerable and who are often overlooked in health planning. The opportunity to consolidate the service with community services for older people experiencing mental illness and with geriatric services makes a lot of sense.

I remain concerned however about the future planning for older people who are part of the Northgate service. We had expected that this service, which is temporarily housed at Northgate, would also be part of longer-term planning for a new facility. We had understood that this was likely to be at Modbury Hospital.

We remain vigilant about the need for the Northgate service to be rehoused in a purpose built and co-designed facility, offering an optimal physical space to match the overhaul of the rest of the service.

We look forward to hearing about planning for the new Northgate facility.