news
Oakden replacement accredited
Northgate facility “the start of a new
way of doing things” for SA.
By Dallas Bastian
S
outh Australia’s answer to a replacement for the Oakden
mental health facility has received full accreditation.
Health Minister Stephen Wade told press at the site that
the Northgate House facility received “very positive feedback”
from accreditors.
“This is a real tribute to the leadership and the staff at the
Northgate facility, working with families to make sure that we can
deliver top quality care to older South Australians,” Wade said.
Dr Duncan McKellar, head of unit with the Older Persons
Mental Health Service, said the team has worked hard in the past
12 months on a “journey of reform” – one that is ongoing.
“We’re a service that has come a long way, but we’re also still a
service that is growing and learning and changing,” McKellar said.
He said Northgate House’s achievements mark a line in the
sand. “It’s the start of a new way of doing things for us as a state,
and we look forward to continuing to build into the future the
best-practice service for this population,” he said.
Currently, 12 people live at Northgate House, all former Oakden
residents, and the team is in the process of accepting new
admissions for the facility’s four remaining beds.
Speaking at the press event, Michael Coleopy, whose twin sister,
Nina, is a resident at Northgate, said he has noticed “incredible”
changes in the 12 months she has lived in the facility.
“I’m impressed with the way that [staff] not only show professional
care, but they also show that loving care that makes such a
difference,” Coleopy said. “Because of the environment, because of
the care, I think that’s contributed a lot to Nina’s improvements.”
McKellar fielded questions from journalists about the staff who
previously worked at Oakden and are now at Northgate, and
called on those in attendance to avoid suggesting that staff who
transitioned across are all bad nurses.
“We do have staff here who worked at Oakden and we’re very
proud of those staff,” he added. “There were some very fine, very
caring staff who worked at Oakden … who struggled to provide
really good care in a difficult context.”
They were up against a number of odds, he explained, not just
related to staffing levels but other resources and budget decisions
made at executive levels.
Northgate House will take new people into the facility on a
case-by-case basis. McKellar said: “Because we’ve only got a limited
number of beds, we will be working with our colleagues from
across the state to identify who needs that bed the most, and who
will fit into the services that we provide in the best possible way.”
He also acknowledged the need to expand services in the
state. “We’ve a long way to go in South Australia to build capacity
services for people with complex needs due to behavioural and
psychological signs of dementia, and also people living with
enduring mental illness.
“There has been a lot of work that’s gone into a model of
care planning process that will hopefully be a blueprint for
best‑practice services and increased capacity.” ■
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