Big demand on health clinic

THE Geelong Clinic has been bolstered with new beds, more staff and expanded mental health outpatient programs in response to increased demand.

The nine new beds are being used to accommodate the private, voluntary-admission facility’s recently ex- panded eating disorder program and for patients “with high prevalence disorders such as anxiety, depression and mood and addiction disorders”, Geelong Clinic general manager Janine Haigh said.

“(The beds were) commissioned in response to large unmet demand for private regional mental healthcare,” Mrs Haigh said.

The Geelong Clinic has had a 15 per cent increase in onsite psychiatrists in the last year, Mrs Haigh said.

“We now have 28 credentialed psychiatrists who have set up outpatient clinics and also work within our hospital to support our day program and inpatient programs,” Mrs Haigh said.

“We have recently expand- ed our outpatient programs to also include day attendance transcranial magnetic stimulation program.

“Patients can now attend for the day to receive required treatments which are provided within the safety of a quality hospital setting.”

Transcranial magnetic stimulation involves a mild form of brain stimulation using magnetic fields, and can be used to treat depression.

The Geelong Clinic is in St Albans Park.

It is run by Healthscope, the operator behind the Geelong Private Hospital which closed earlier this year.

The Geelong Clinic is home to innovative eating disorder programs the Proactive Recovery Enhancement Program and the Learn to Eat at Peace treatment program.

The latest expansion means there are now 52 inpatient beds at the clinic.

Mrs Haigh said that the clinic was running at capacity.

She said that anxiety and depression were still the most prevalent conditions for which people sought help at the clinic.