PLEASE SHARE & ADVOCATE ❤
Now that most professionals, parents and youth with mental health issues have discovered that Orygen = Head Space is NOT in any way a help, the Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital decided to CLOSE the academic child psychiatry unit (ACPU) permanently and divert ALL services for 12-14 year olds to Headspace/Orygen.
This means that there will be NO consistent NOR psychiatry (=medial science) - based assessment NOR selection of best treatement (neither medication nor therapy) for youth at the most critical stages of intervention.
Below is the statement on the RCH website, which is only known to persons who know to check and where, after ACPU send out emails to all their patients simply stating that they are now closed. There was never a consultation nor disclosure prior to June.
It goes without saying that we currently keep seeing a consistent rise in youth with ADHD and ASD type symptoms in schools, and that there is less and less diagnosis and treatment available or applied within the critial ages before the brain can be therapied.
We can expect a society with even higher rates of public disturbance, crimes, youth and adult incarceration, unemployment, homelessness, child neglect, hunger, poverty etc.
We need all of you to PLEASE FIGHT THIS, if not for the sake of your children, grandchildren, or children of relatives and friends, then for all of our communities and our future.
Headspace/Orygen must go. We need clinical settings, and psychiatrists and consistent professional programs to fight a mental health care crisis.
PLEASE SHARE & ADVOCATE ❤
Statement on the RCH website:
FAQs: Change of Service delivery for 12-14-year-old mental health consumers at the RCH
The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) provides an inpatient service for adolescents aged 13–18 years however, our RCH Mental Health Service currently provides community programs for consumers aged 0-15 years. The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System recommended changes so that RCH delivers community mental health and wellbeing services to children up to the age of 12 and the RMH (Orygen Specialist Program) to deliver community mental health and wellbeing services for young people aged 12–25 years.
Therefore, from 8.30am on 1 July 2024, the RCH Mental Health Service will transfer the service delivery arrangements for young people aged 12–14-years-old to the RMH (OSP). The transition will impact young people aged 12–14 years old and their families who live in the Western and North West metropolitan regions of Melbourne seeking support for a complex mental health challenge. The transition will affect the following teams within the RCH Mental Health Service:
• RCH Mental Health Intake team
• Three community teams (Travancore, St Albans and Hoppers Crossing)
• Specialist Autism Team (external referrals only)
• Child and Youth HOPE team
The RCH and the RMH (OSP) will be working together to ensure service continuity for children and young people, their families, carers and supporters. It will be a priority between the two services that there is a smooth transition of mental health services for young people and that consumers, families and carers will be involved in any decision making regarding their treatment and care.
Will the transfer of service delivery arrangement for 12–14-year-olds be across the entire RCH Mental Health Service?
No, the transfer of service delivery arrangements for 12–14-year-olds only relates to the RCH’s Mental Health Service’s Intake team, three community teams (Travancore, Sunshine and Hoppers Crossing), Child and Youth HOPE and Special Autism Team (external referrals only).
Will Banksia (the RCH mental health inpatient unit) be affected by the transition of 12–14-year-olds from the RCH to the RMH (OSP)?
The RCH will continue to provide the same mental health services that were offered before the transition however, the services will be provided to 0–11-year-old children. Other teams, such as Banksia, Clinical Psychology, Developmental Neuropsychiatry, Wadja, Dual Disability and Neurodevelopment, will continue to provide services to young people aged 0–18 years for a range of psychological disorders.
How will the RCH Mental Health Service model of care change following the transition?
The RCH model of care will not change as teams already provide services for 0–11-year-olds. Following the transition, RCH Mental Health Service staff will undertake assessments, triage and interventions focused on a younger cohort. The RCH staff are regularly provided with ongoing training to ensure they are well supported to provide the highest level of care.
If my 12–14-year-old child is already receiving interventions and specialist support at the RCH Mental Health Service, will they automatically be transferred over to the RMH (OSP) from 1 July 2024 for ongoing care?
Young people aged 12–14 years who are currently receiving care at the RCH may prefer to remain with the RCH to complete their assessment or treatment until November 2024. If further interventions and specialist support are required after November 2024, 12-14 year old consumers can be referred to RMH (OSP) on a case-by-case basis. Each family's and young person's needs and preferences are unique, and there may be scenarios where an earlier referral to RMH (OSP) or referrals to other services are helpful. We encourage you to discuss this further with your child's treating team at the RCH.
How will the transition to becoming a 0–11-year-old service impact the waiting times for my child that is currently waiting to be helped by the RCH Mental Health Service?
We anticipate that the change to becoming a 0–11-year-old service will result in shorter waiting times and allow the RCH Mental Health Service to better support young children and their families.
What if my 12–14-year-old child is discharged from the RCH before 1 July 2024 and requires further treatment a few months later?
After 1 July 2024, any 12–14-year-old formally receiving care at the RCH who is re-referred to RCH will be referred to the RMH (OSP). The RCH will provide a warm and detailed handover of the young person’s treatment/assessment to the new clinician to limit the amount of information that you and your family will have to repeat, making transition as smooth as possible.
What if I take my 12–14-year-old child to the RCH Emergency Department? Will they still be helped, or will they be re-directed?
Yes, they will still be helped as the RCH Emergency Department remains a 0–18 service. Young people aged 12–14 years attending the RCH Emergency Department will receive care.
What will happen to Secure Welfare referrals for 12–14-year-olds? Who will be responsible for their intake, assessment and treatment?
The RMH (OSP) will accept Secure Welfare referrals for young people aged between 12–14 years of age living in Western and North West Metropolitan Melbourne and will be responsible for their intake, assessment and treatment as appropriate. RCH will no longer accept Secure Welfare referrals for young people aged 12-14 years of age.
Where do I get further information?
If you have any questions, you can contact the RCH Intake team on the following contact number: 1800 44 55 11 or alternatively contact the RMH (OSP): 1800 888 320