Count down to new mental health unit starts

Hamilton is in line for a new minimum secure forensic mental health unit, likely to be run out of either Waikato Hospital or an existing facility in Tamahere.

And it could in a little over a year.

In August last year Waikato District Health Board approved more than $2 million a year to run the 10-bed unit for high and complex-needs patients. This week's community public health advisory committee meeting heard the unit would have beds for patients from three district health board areas: Waikato (six beds), Taranaki (two) and Lakes (two).

There was also scope to add another seven beds at a later stage.

Waikato DHB planning and funding general manager Brett Paradine said mental health and addictions patients would rehabilitate at the unit long-term, for up to two years.

The DHBs have called for proposals to run the facility from two providers of similar services in Hamilton Health Waikato, which operates the Henry Bennett Centre, and Hauora Waikato Maori Mental Health Services with mental health service premises at Tamahere.

The aim was to have an agreement with a provider in place by early 2010 at the latest and the service operational within 12 months of that.

Mr Paradine said options would become clearer in November, after the providers had made their proposals. Any community consultation would depend on which provider was selected and what the requirements were.

He said the region was lagging behind the rest of the country.

"Each of the other regions in the country have a service like this, we are the last to have it," Mr Paradine said.

Though Waikato DHB's share of the funding was $2.048 million a year, the provider would pay any capital costs to run the service.