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The Tasmanian Government is reviewing the Royal Hobart Hospital’s (RHH) multi-million-dollar redevelopment plans, in response to growing concerns the K-block is unsuitable for psychiatric patients, the ABC understands.
The Government has told the state’s peak medical bodies the review will be finished in February, just months before K-block is scheduled for completion.
It comes after the state’s peak medical bodies have repeatedly warned Tasmania’s Health Minister Michael Ferguson that if he proceeds with the current plans to put a new psychiatry ward in K-block, he will be wasting millions of dollars of taxpayers money.
The Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Royal Hobart Hospital Staff Association (RHHSA) have also advised Mr Ferguson K-block is not suitable for mental health patients because it’s too small, doesn’t have the right amenities and there’s no outdoor space.
John Davis from the AMA said it would be nice if the review had been done three or four years ago.
“We’ve got to make the decision and get on with making the decisions on the infrastructure needed.”
“The people of Tasmania deserve the best health care in this country,” Dr Davis said.
Milford McArthur from the Royal Australian and New Zealand and College for Psychiatrists said the wait times in emergency department for mental patients were the worst he had seen in 20 years.
Dr McArthur said “the current shortage of dispute mental health beds is not sustainable and is dangerous”.
“It would be a tragedy if clinicians aren’t listened to about the best way to manage the mental health situation, we don’t want to be locked into a bad psychiatric facility for generations,” he said.
The RHHSA’s Frank Nicklason pointed to the marked increase in people with mental illness spending way too long in the Royal’s emergency department, some as long as six days.
“The Royal is experiencing a crisis in its ability to deliver appropriate care to people experience acute psychiatric illness,” Dr Nicklason said.
A spokeswoman for Mr Ferguson did not respond to specific questions about the review of the redevelopment plans, how much changes to the plans would cost, and whether the alterations would delay the project’s completion.
“The RHH redevelopment is on budget and on track for completion in mid-2019 in line with the final report of the Redevelopment Rescue Taskforce,” the spokeswoman said.
“We always engage constructively with stakeholders and during the election committed to a master plan for the overall site.”
The AMA, the College for Psychiatrists and the RHHSA have also met with chief psychiatrist Aaron Groves to discuss their concerns about the redevelopment of the hospital.
These groups raised the following five points with Dr Groves:
- There is “an absolute and urgent requirement for the Government to commit to constructing a new purpose-built acute psychiatry facility for the RHH”
- A new RHH acute psychiatry facility “must be ready for occupation within five years”
- The acute psychiatry beds at RHH “must remain in J-block until a new acute psychiatry facility is ready for occupation within five years”
- K-block “is unsuitable for acute psychiatry at RHH”
- An “immediate injection of funding is need to provide interim support for managing the acute RHH psychiatric bed crisis”
Dr Frank Nicklason said the chief psychiatrist was responsive to their concerns.
“It was very good, we walked away feeling like we have been listened to.”
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Dr Groves said:
“Dr Groves informed the meeting that he is a member of the clinical planning taskforce that will be making recommendations about the master planning for the RHH site and that any considerations about future mental health needs will be considered as part of the consideration of all health services needed at that site.”
Topics: health, health-administration, mental-health, healthcare-facilities, health-policy, hobart-7000
