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October 2009
South Australian Branch of College of Psychiatrists concerned about
delay in building of the new Glenside Hospital
The South Australian Branch of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
(RANZCP) is disappointed at the two year delay in the building of the new 129 bed mental health
facility on the Glenside site.
“The Government has chosen to delay building the hospital, prioritising other initiatives over mental
health. This is of major concern to the South Australian Branch of The Royal Australian and New
Zealand College of Psychiatrists, particularly as consumers and staff have already been moved to
transitional accommodation. Although some of this accommodation is an improvement on previous
services, it should be recognised that the funding for this transition has come from the budget for the
new hospital,” said Chair of the South Australian Branch of The Royal Australian and New Zealand
College of Psychiatrists, Dr Kate Jarvis.
“The Government needs to ensure that it will adequately fund the new hospital, recognising that costs
will increase over the next two years and that hospital plans may need to be revised. The transition
arrangements will be of significantly longer duration than was first thought, having an impact on
consumers and staff,” said Dr Jarvis.
“There will be secondary consequences as a result of this decision, and the South Australian Branch
of the RANZCP is also concerned that the delay will affect the implementation of the Community
Mental Health Plan which is dependent on the building of six new community mental health centres.
Implementation of any new community model of care will be extremely difficult without the appropriate
infrastructure,” said Dr Jarvis.
“Given that this delay has now occurred, the South Australian Branch of the RANZCP would like to
again advocate for a Research Institute to be located on site. This could form the basis of a
multidisciplinary collaboration engaged in mental health related research and would support some of
the high quality research already occurring in South Australia,” said Dr Jarvis.
“A Research Institute would demonstrate to consumers, carers and staff that this Government is
serious about providing high quality evidence based care and treatment, and also about reducing
stigma associated with mental illness,” said Dr Jarvis.
For further information:
Dr Kate Jarvis
South Australian Chair, RANZCP
Telephone: 08 8239 2911
About The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) is the principal
organisation representing the medical specialty of psychiatry in Australia and New Zealand and has
responsibility for training, examining and awarding the qualification of Fellowship of the College to
medical practitioners.
Media Release
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