YEAR IN REVIEW – DECEMBER 2018
The year ended with some positive news for local young people, with the highly-anticipated opening of the Peel Health Hub taking place on December 12.
Peel Youth Medical Service’s (PYMS) new $9.2 million medical facility took more than three years of lobbying, planning and campaigning from various stakeholders.
Construction on the state-of-the-art centre began in 2017 after funding was secured from the state and federal governments, Lotterywest, the Peel Health Foundation, Growing Our South Administration and donations from the community.
The facility will be a one-stop shop for the health needs of young people with access to services including Peel Youth Medical Service, headspace Mandurah, Youth Focus, Palmerston Association, Allambee and Jobs South West.
It is hoped that the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) will also re-locate within the facility in early 2019.
Service providers will work together to offer mental health, drug and alcohol services, family violence and sexual assault support, specialist services, vocational training and family support.
GP Down South Mandurah manager, and the driving force behind the Hub, Eleanor Britton said everyone involved should be proud of what they had achieved.
“This wonderful facility will provide a one stop shop for the health needs of young people in the Peel region,” she said.
“It will also provide coordinated services for adults, carers and their families.”
GP Down South chief executive officer Amanda Poller said her team were looking forward to welcoming their first clients in the coming weeks.
“There has been so much support for this project from the grassroots up,” she said.
“People have worked tirelessly to make it a reality.
“It takes a village to raise a child but it has certainly taken a whole community to raise the Peel Health Hub.
“The Peel community now has a magnificent asset in this facility and completion of this wonderful facility is most definitely cause for celebration.”
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Mandurah mayor Rhys Williams said there was still a great need for the facility in the Peel region.
“Too many people are struggling with their mental health, too many people are at risk of being left behind,” he said.
“This project is an example of our community at its very best.”
Canning MP Andrew Hastie said the opening was a celebration of the result of three years of hard work.
“In 2015 I met with GP Down South to discuss the health challenges faced by young people in the Peel region,” he said.
“Like many, I was deeply concerned about the roadblocks preventing young people from accessing local health services. In particular, I worried about those whose lives were damaged by drug abuse.
“GP Down South presented a proposal for a youth health facility focused on prevention and early intervention.
“Unlike other models, the PYMS Health Hub would co-locate mental and physical health services under one roof, ensuring young people aged 12-25 could get the help they needed, all in one spot.
“With the help of the community I lobbied for funding to make this vision a reality.
“As part of that process, I led a delegation of young people from Mandurah in April 2016 to meet with the Prime Minster to discuss the needs of our region.
“Our hard work paid off.”
Mandurah MP David Templeman congratulated everyone on creating a facility unlike any other in Australia.
“The establishment and opening of the Peel Health Hub is a credit to our total community which came together to ensure this project was delivered,” he said.
“It is important to remember that this facility is a co-located regional centre which will deliver tremendous services and support to the people of our region.
“It is a great example of what can be achieved when the community and government work together.”
