$23m Labor health pledge

LABOR will fund 10 more mental health beds in southern Tasmania but is yet to decide whether they will be at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

Leader Rebecca White unveiled a $23.5 million mental health component of the $560 million health policy in Launceston yesterday.

‘We’ll work with clinicians to find a suitable location for up to 10 additional mental health beds to provide a total of 42 acute mental health beds in or close to the RHH,” she said.

Ms White said psychiatric emergency nurses would work every shift in emergency departments at the Royal, Launceston General Hospital and North West Regional Hospital.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the Liberal Government had accommodated mental health beds at the Royal in the $23 million J Block.

“We’ve kept psychiatric patients at the Royal, we’ve also provided funding expanded community care and also expanding the number of beds at Tolosa Park for subacute options,” he said.

He said psychiatric re-accreditation for the Royal would be sought and that the Rethink Mental Health plan had been universally supported by stakeholders.

The Mental Council of Tasmania welcomed Labor’s policy.

“MHCT believes Labor’s commitments represent a great start and a clear movement towards stronger community-managed mental health solutions for our state,” chief executive Connie Digolis said.

Labor mental health spokeswoman Sarah Lovell said 12 new homes would be built statewide for people who could not return to their homes. She said people were presenting to emergency rooms because they had nowhere else to go.