Work begins on mental health facility at Royal Melbourne Hospital

Victorians will soon have better access to mental health treatment and support with construction underway to transform and expand an existing mental health facility at The Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Part of the Mental Health Beds Expansion Program, the new 22-bed facility will increase capacity and reduce pressure on The Royal Melbourne Hospital’s emergency department. People experiencing mental illness will be able to access immediate treatment in a contemporary, safe and high-quality setting.

The facility has been designed in consultation with people with lived experience of the mental health system, including consumers, carers, clinicians and staff.

The new beds will provide more than 8,000 days of care which equates to approximately 488 patient admissions each year.

Construction has also started at three other sites, in Greater Geelong and Northern and Western Melbourne, realising a $492 million Victorian Government investment to deliver 120 new hospital-based mental health beds across the state.

Mental Health Beds Expansion Program

The Victorians Government is urgently responding to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System with a $492 million investment to deliver 144 new acute public mental health beds.

The new beds, including 120 hospital-based beds and 24 home-based beds, will be delivered across four Victorian health services:

• 16 beds at McKellar Centre, Geelong
• 22 beds at Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville
• 30 beds at Northern Hospital, Epping
• 52 beds at Sunshine Hospital, St Albans.

Work on the facilities will create and sustain more than 1,450 local construction jobs.

Learn more about the Mental Health Beds Expansion Program via our dedicated project page.