Mental Health Minister Ingrid Stitt was joined by MP Nina Taylor for a tour of the Ramsay Clinic where Wren is located. Photo: Facebook/Ingrid Stitt MP.
Australia’s first dedicated public women’s mental health service has commenced operations in Victoria. The landmark initiative is set to provide the state’s women with greater access to specialised care in a safe, private setting.
Minister for Mental Health Ingrid Stitt opened the Specialist Women’s Mental Health Service on 1 December, which will provide dedicated therapeutic mental health care to over 750 women each year.
The Women’s Recovery Network (Wren), as it will be known, has been co-designed in consultation with women who have had lived experience of the mental health system.
“This Australian-first public service will transform how we care for women when they may be at their most vulnerable – giving Victorian women the care and services they deserve,” Minister Stitt said.
“The Royal Commission highlighted that the mental health system wasn’t delivering the care that women need – that is why we have established a dedicated service, designed in consultation with women with lived and living experience, to meet their specific needs.”
It was the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System that inspired Wren’s creation, which was one of the 65 recommendations of the final report.
Victoria’s Labor Government invested over $100 million into the unique health service, acting on the Royal Commission’s finding that many women experienced gender-based harm or abuse in the state’s mental health system.
The Melbourne service on Albert Road (pictured) includes 35 mental health beds, 24 inpatient beds and six Hospital in the Home beds, while the Shepparton facility hosts five hospital beds. Photo: Facebook/Ingrid Stitt MP.
Between the Alfred Health and Goulburn Valley Health operations, alongside private provider Ramsay Health Care, it’s hoped the service will support women’s recovery in an inclusive, respectful and welcoming setting that meets the level of acute care they require.
The service will be accessible in Melbourne and Shepparton to women who have experienced trauma and sexual abuse,eating disorders or perinatal mental health concerns.
Using a mix of inpatient beds and Hospital in the Home care, the service’s model will give women an option between receiving high-quality care in one of the facilities or their own home.
“This new service in the heart of inner Melbourne is an example of the meaningful steps we have taken to ensuring women can access the dedicated care and treatment they need to live a full life,” Member for Albert Park Nina Taylor said.
In the state’s 2023/24 budget, $776 million has been dedicated to supporting the ongoing work of building a responsive and compassionate mental health system.
Over the past three years, the state government has invested $6 billion into its mental health and wellbeing system, with work underway on 90 per cent of the Royal Commission’s recommendations.
