New mental health unit
Planning has started to replace the acute inpatient unit at Hillmorton Hospital, a mental health facility that has been at the centre of recent workplace violence issues.
Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) chief executive David Meates said Te Awakura, the 64-bed acute inpatient unit, was not fit-for-purpose and a replacement was clearly needed.
The unit, comprised of four 16-bed wards, is frequently at or above capacity. The original building was built in the 1950s, but was extensively remodelled about 2000.
‘‘Our planning is in the early stages, and development of an indicative business case to construct a new unit will be a focus for next year,’’ Meates said.
Security was boosted in the unit this month following a spate of serious assaults and meetings between Meates and nursing staff concerned about the ongoing violence.
CDHB management has repeatedly said violence is unacceptable, but has been at pains to point out the risk of stigmatising mental health patients.
It is not clear how long a new inpatient unit will take to plan and build. In the meantime, the CDHB is considering creating a self-contained high needs unit as an extension to the current building, and more low stimulus areas in the wards.
The development of a business case for a new inpatient unit is not contingent on other work happening on the campus, but Meates said it was important new facilities were managed in a phased way.
The past five years had been spent gaining agreement on a new home for mental health services stranded at Princess Margaret Hospital, including child and adolescent services, he said.
Facilities at Princess Margaret, which will likely be decommissioned after the move, have been blamed for compromising care.
An early target of 2020 for the completion of new facilities on the Hillmorton campus was no longer achievable. Meates said this month it would be a four-year process once the project was signed-off.
Health Minister Dr David Clark confirmed on Tuesday he and Finance Minister Grant Robertson had now received and were considering the detailed business case and recommendations on the project. ‘‘I expect to have more to say on this early in the new year,’’ he said. Once final approvals were gained, the next stage of planning could progress, Meates said.
The CDHB is also extending high care capacity in the Assessment, Treatment and Rehabilitation unit, for people with an intellectual disability, at a cost of $5.8 million. Design will be finished by April, and construction in March 2020. ‘‘Our priority is to ensure that over time we will have facilities that are future-proofed and support contemporary models of care,’’ Meates said.