$8 million investment for RBWH mental health emergency care

The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Psychiatric Emergency Centre (PEC) will receive an $8 million funding boost to improve its facilities for Queenslanders in mental health crisis.

RBWH continues to see increasing demand for mental health care, including people presenting in severe distress, signifying the need to review the model and contemporise the environment.

The RBWH PEC provides comprehensive mental health assessment 24 hours a day, for those who present to the Emergency Department in mental health crisis.

Since 1983, the PEC has seen thousands of people each year offering immediate psychiatric assessment as well as connections for ongoing mental health care.

Metro North Health Chief Executive Jackie Hanson said the uplift would provide greater amenity for both patients and staff.

“Metro North is continuing to see more and more people needing mental health treatment, with both attendance and acuity numbers increasing year on year,” Ms Hanson said.

“We know that mental health is a key priority for our community, and we want to ensure investment is prioritised in this space, allowing for a new design to meet the needs of this cohort as well as increased staffing to ensure we can see people as soon as possible.

“Design and procurement options are currently being investigated while additional medical and nursing staff are already being recruited as part of the uplift.

“Additionally, we continue to invest in mental health care all across Metro North Health, with a Crisis Stabilisation Facility also set to open at The Prince Charles Hospital in September 2024 and Hospital in the Home set to expand for mental health care.”

The RBWH PEC upgrade is currently in the planning stage, with more detail to come once finalised.