As the St Helen’s Private Hospital closes its doors, the state government’s new Mother and Baby Unit has opened to patients at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
The three beds in K-block will provide support to mums experiencing postnatal depression and anxiety.
Families who previously accessed the St Helen’s Private Hospital Mother and Baby Unit for other services, such as maternal exhaustion or support with feeding and settling babies, are able to access support through the public healthcare system via services such as the Child Health and Parenting Service (CHaPS) and Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Services (PIMHS).
For other St Helen’s patients, Healthscope says it’s offering extra support to the psychiatrists that use the services of the hospital to assist in planning the safe transfer of their patients to another healthcare provider or suitable alternative to meet their needs.
Premier and Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff says he wants to assure Tasmanians that they will continue to have access to mental health and alcohol and drug treatment options offered by the Tasmanian Health Service, private providers, and community sector organisations.
This includes Clarity Health Care which recently opened its doors in Battery Point to provide a hospital in the home style program, and The Hobart Clinic which is transitioning day programs from St Helen’s Private Hospital to their centres in Hobart and Rokeby. The newly opened Peacock Centre in North Hobart also provides 12 new beds alongside an integrated mental health hub, supported by services like Mental Health Hospital in the Home and Detox at Home.
It comes as the government has copped criticism in state parliament for a lack of action over the facility’s closure.
Shadow Health Minister Anita Dow presenting documents obtained under right to information, which revealed that despite knowing of St Helens’ future, Jeremy Rockliff did not reach out to the operators or offer any temporary support.
