Open for business: First medical services move into new Peel Health Hub

And after more than three years of planning, it’s finally open for business.

The Peel Health Hub provided assistance to it’s very first clients on Monday morning.

Construction began on Peel Youth Medical Service’s (PYMS) new $9.2 million building in 2017, with the official opening planned for December 12, 2018.

GP Down South, Palmerston and JSW Training and Community Services all began providing services from their new home on November 26 for the first stage opening of the youth medical service precinct.

Headspace and Allambee Counselling will follow suit next week with Youth Focus and the Department of Child and Adolescent Health Services set to open soon after.

GP Down South Mandurah manager Eleanor Britton said it has been a long time coming to provide the services necessary to help young people in the Peel region.

“It was about three and a half years ago, we just felt that the whole community could really benefit from linking services,” she said.

“There had been a really concerning spate of youth suicide and through PYMS we see a great number of young people affected by mental health issues.

“We were seeing all these young people in the Peel region fall through the cracks.

“We decided that if we could get some funding and other like-minded organisations together in the one building and work together, we could offer a seamless model of care.”

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GP Down South regional manager (Peel) Denise Puddick said the centre would be a one-stop shop for young people seeking medical and mental health treatment.

“All of us being in the same building means we can walk across the hall and take the clients with us to have a chat with the relevant service providers,” she said.

“That helps to build the trust and the relationship with the young person.

“A young person could walk in here and we might not be able to provide the service that they need, but we’ll be able to support them to get to where they want to go so there’s that ‘no wrong door' approach.”

But Ms Britton said the new building was just the beginning of providing state-of-the-art health services to young people in Mandurah.

“The building is wonderful and magnificent and it gives us a good point to work from but it’s that whole collaboration, negotiation and relationship building that’s brought us here,” she said.

“Now it’s all about working together to actually make a difference.”

But the building is still an achievement that took impressive coordination, millions of dollars in funding and bipartisan support to pull together.

“It often takes a young person many times for them to build up their trust of someone so if they’re coming in to a place that feels safe and welcoming and inviting, that would really crucial to support that model of care,” Ms Britton said.

“You see the beautiful gardens we’ve got here, gym equipment outside and a coffee shop and a ping pong table – some of the counselling can even take place outside.

“It helps to break down the barriers and that stigma about reaching out for help for mental health issues.

“What we don’t want is someone to feel that stigma when they come here – this needs to be a place that is totally welcoming and accepting.”

The Peel Health Hub project is jointly funded by the federal and state governments, Lotterywest, the Peel Health Foundation and Growing Our South Administration Fund.

“We have pulled off a lot of support from those organisations to make this a reality,” Ms Britton said.

“This project is being seen nationally and at a state level as quite an innovative model of care and they’re really looking at it as a trial site.

“Hopefully we achieve benefits for young people now and into the future.”

The official opening of the Peel Health Hub will be held on Wednesday, December 12. For more information, visit the PYMS Facebook page.

If you or someone you know needs urgent support please contact the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467, the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.