News

People in the Geelong region will soon be able to access mental health services from a central location in the heart of Geelong, thanks to a $16-milion investment from the State Government.

A new five-story Mental Health Hub at 181 Moorabool Street marks a new direction in how we care for people in our community experiencing mental ill-health and addiction - further supporting their recovery journey.

Mental Health, Drugs and Alcohol clinical director Associate Professor Steve Moylan said the new hub’s ground floor would be a welcoming space for anyone to seek immediate support and care.

Prof Moylan said the space would be a fresh and identifiable place people could come to seek treatment that was not the emergency department, easing pressure on the emergency department.

This hub is the first in a broader strategy to establish four across the region, with two more proposed for the Greater Geelong region and another in Colac, providing an entrance point for anyone of any acuity to receive immediate care. 

The hub will consolidate existing services onto one site and provide extended operating hours including over the weekend and public holidays. In addition, services will include assessment, navigation, care planning, treatment, wellbeing support and education. Some of our consumers and carers find accessing services confusing and complicated; and this new Hub is an important step in making easier to access help when it's needed.

Working from a contemporary, fit-for-purpose and safe facility, clinicians will provide telephone, online, walk-in, at-home and outreach services.

The hub will also include space for clinicians and researchers to come together and drive mental health service improvement through a learning health care system.

Barwon Health has been working with local developers Up Property and Gartland Real Estate to secure this new facility. Construction will get underway this month and is on track to be completed in late 2022.

It is the culmination of many years work by our Mental Health, Drugs and Alcohol Services team and supports recommendations made in the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.