Funding for the establishment of new residential youth mental health facilities will fill a gap in services in Victoria, a world-leading clinician and researcher says.
The Victorian government is investing $141 million to create new Youth Prevention and Recovery Care (YPARC) centres in Ballarat, Traralgon, Shepparton, Geelong, and Heidelberg.
Each facility will host 10 private bedrooms for short and medium-term treatment for young people aged 16 to 25 experiencing mental ill health.
University of Melbourne youth mental health professor Patrick McGorry said YPARC facilities were a key pillar in a system of care for young people in many areas.
Professor McGorry said he had seen this type of facility in action as the director of Orygen Youth Health, which ran a YPARC centre in Parkville.
Early intervention
Professor McGorry said residential facilities offered longer stays than acute inpatient units at hospitals and focused on prevention or recovery rather than acute care.
"People can stay for weeks rather than days and can get a whole range of holistic recovery interventions, not just medication but psychological and social forms of therapy," he said.
"The opportunity for that disappeared after de-institutionalisation when the old mental hospitals were closed and a very limited acute service was built in general hospitals.
"Now we are starting to get a rebuild with a broader spectrum of services."
The Victorian government says the investment in five new facilities will double the capacity of the YPARC network.
Ensuring every region has a youth prevention and recovery centre was a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System.
Department of Health data shows 75 per cent of severe mental health problems emerge before the age of 25.
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Sector change
Professor McGorry said he welcomed the investment in new YPARC facilities as a positive step, but the age range of 16 to 25 was "too limiting" and needed to be extended to 12 to 25.
"We shouldn't be denying access to younger adolescents for this vital service," he said.
Professor McGorry said he was also concerned about the ability to staff new YPARC services amid health workforce shortages.
"The failure to have a proper workforce plan is a real indictment of healthcare across Australia, not just in Victoria. That is one of the top priorities that needs to be addressed," he said.
"In mental health, the royal commission showed we needed to rebuild things from the ground up, so therefore we need some preferential treatment here in training and recruitment of staff."
A Victorian government spokesperson said this year's budget delivered the largest investment in mental health workforce development in Victoria's history.
"We are investing a record $372 million in workforce initiatives and hiring more than 1,500 mental health workers this state needs," they said.
The ABC understands the five new YPARC sites are expected to open progressively from 2024, with the final site due to be completed in mid-2025.
Grampians Health, Barwon Health, Austin Hospital, Latrobe Regional Hospital, and Goulburn Valley Health will operate the centres.
