New mum and bub centre to open soon

Hundreds of young families will benefit from a new mum and bub centre, which will soon open in Launceston.

Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing Minister Guy Barnett announced the state government would soon open a $9m four-bed Mother Baby Centre.

“There’s no doubt that parenting is a difficult job, and providing the right support to mothers, babies and their families is so important to their health and wellbeing,” he said.

“This is a service that will help hundreds of families in Northern Tasmania. The fourbed centre will have rooms where mothers and their babies can stay, in the care of expert nurses, with children aged from newborn to three years old.”

The Mother and Baby Centre will be located at the Launceston Health Hub, delivered in partnership with Tresillian Family Care.

Planning and design work is already underway. It is expected to be in operation by this time next year.

“We provide telehealth consults as a first step of care and then the day service will be weekly day consultations, including sleep, settling and feeding strategies, and then if they’re needing more complex care, they come in for the five day four-night stay in four beds,” Tresillian Family Care chief executive Professor Rob Mills said.

“This will benefit up to 500 families a year early on, and then we’re hoping that will grow as we expand our services down here in Launceston.”