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Major expansion underway: Belmont Private Hospital to become second-largest private mental health facility in Australia
The major expansion works at Queensland's largest private mental health facility, Belmont Private Hospital in Brisbane has officially kicked off. The AU$21 million redevelopment, expected to be completed in mid-2022, will boost total beds to 185, an additional 35 beds, and increase floor space to 14,000 sqm, an additional 5,300sqm, making Belmont Private the second-largest private mental health facility in Australia.
The expansion will include a purpose-built women’s centre to treat more patients affected by perinatal mood disorders and a new adolescent mental health ward for patients aged from 16 years. The project will also include a new six level building on Creek Road, Carina, with two storeys dedicated to hospital wards, one to consulting suites and three levels of car parking (70 additional spaces), along with the refurbishment of existing wards.
It will alleviate critical gaps in the region’s private mental health services and support early intervention, while aligning with key focus areas of the 2021 Federal Budget, which committed AU$2.3 billion in funding towards mental health and suicide prevention over the next four years.
The addition of the ward will make Belmont Private the only hospital in the State to offer continuity of care for adolescents through to older persons’ mental health, with the redevelopment also expanding the adult ward, treating mood, trauma and dissociation disorders.
The project is part of an AU$80 million pipeline of new developments and redevelopments Healthe Care’s Specialty Services business is undertaking nationally, in-line with increasing demand for mental health services Australia-wide.
Julia Strickland-Bellamy, Chief Executive Officer of Healthe Care specialty hospitals, said the expansion would allow Belmont Private to treat more inpatients and outpatients, while solidifying its reputation as ‘best in class’.
“The redevelopment will mean we can increase our services in critical areas to meet high demand for beds, particularly from mothers experiencing post-natal depression and adolescents needing support,” she said, “Our expanded Brisbane Centre for Postnatal Disorders, which has been operating for three decades as the only private inpatient perinatal mood disorder clinic in Queensland, will increase capacity in a new dedicated and modern space purpose-designed for both women and their babies.
“The adolescents ward will be modelled from our highly-successful, evidence-based The Hills Clinic in Sydney, which has supported young people from around Australia and internationally.”
St Hilliers, a leading privately-owned Australian builder amassing more than AU$3.4 billion in projects over 34 years, has been appointed as project builder.
Our Eden Private Hospital in Sunshine Coast also introduced a new facility, using physical exercise and brain stimulation helps mental health treatment and rehabilitation.
Groundbreaking ceremony of the expansion project
In the renderings, the new building looks iconic, with cues from the Queensland vernacular, including weatherboarding and sun shading to improve thermal performance. In addition, each space is designed to suit the multiple cohorts using the building. Overall, we wanted to create a warm and homely experience where people can come and feel comfortable to spend time with their loved ones while they get well.
Mental health specialists shared insights in Mindfront Academy live session
Mindfront Health, as the exclusive support unit, joined hands with Shanghai Mental Health Centre to hold the Fifth National Forum on New Progress in Substance Addiction Research from 6th to 9th July. During the 4-day forum, a Shanghai Training Centre of China Association for Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment was established, aiming to serve as a platform for clinical scientific research, academic exchanges, and high-quality treatment.
In addition, an exclusive Mindfront Academy live session attracted much attention. On 7th July, two Healthe Care Australia specialists shared their insights on substance addiction, mental health, our patients' journey of recovery (the former world champion Surfer “Occy” in his miraculous rebirth), and other topics with over 500 audiences.
During the 3-hour session, Joanne Levin, Executive General Manager of Mindfront Mental Health, Healthe Care Australia introduced Australian public and community addiction prevention, intervention and management system; while Kate Cross, Chief Executive Officer at Currumbin Clinic explained clinical and operation model of private addiction services in Australia.
Mindfront Academy is a professional education, training, academic, and scientific research platform under Mindfront Health. It is committed to introducing advanced overseas treatment technologies, promoting scientific research and academic exchanges at home and abroad, and cultivating professionals with international perspectives to enhance the development of China’s mental health sector.
Marco Occhilupo, also known as "Occy", emerged from his cocoon and won the world title after years spent immobile and overweight on the couch, battling with drug abuse and depression. To encourage more people, he shared his story about his treatment for addiction at our Gold Coast mental health facility, Currumbin Clinic.
Mindfront Health Internet hospital improves users’ experience and hospitals’ management efficiency
Mindfront Health has obtained a license recently to launch an Internet hospital, which allows omni channel multidisciplinary mental health-related diagnosis and treatment services. In the future, some traditional diagnosis practices of psychologists will be realized via the internet, therefore children, adolescents, and adults with mild to moderate mental illness will have access to online consultation and AI treatment.
The Internet Hospital covers a broad array of mental health services. For example, patients can make appointments online and do simple online assessments for the psychologists to quickly have a grasp of their background information before further consultations; then they can review and manage digital medical records & electronic prescriptions, conduct smart evaluations, or have individual/group consultation online with nationally certified electronic signatures during the diagnosis process. After the face-to-face consultation, patients can make follow-up appointments, track and report adverse reaction in the system.
Mindfront Health’s Internet Hospital has a friendly interface that is easy to use
OncoCare Cancer Centre APP launched to connect patients
“OCC Connect”, a one-stop app developed by OncoCare Cancer Centre that allows patients to keep track of their medical reports, manage appointments, and get in touch with the clinics, is available for download in both App Store and Google Play Store.
During the pandemic, our OncoCare clinics in Singapore kept following up and maintaining relationship with local and overseas patients despite the lockdown policy. With the launch of the new app, we will keep expanding the continuum of our existing services and further improve our service efficiency.