Work has begun on the new North West Mental Health Precinct, marking an important milestone towards building a contemporary, recovery-focused mental health service for the North West community.
The purpose-built precinct is part of our North West Regional Hospital Masterplan. It will replace the Spencer Clinic with a 22-bed inpatient unit, providing a safe, welcoming and therapeutic environment for North West Tasmanians experiencing mental health challenges.
Minister for Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Bridget Archer, said the start of works was the next step in delivering on our plan to strengthen mental healthcare for the North West community.
“When someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, they deserve care that helps them feel safe, supported and treated with dignity,” Minister Archer said.
“We are building an even better Tasmania, with this investment delivering better access to modern mental health care closer to home and support networks for North West Tasmanians.”
The new Precinct will feature dedicated clinical spaces, a welcoming entrance, accessible parking, and healing gardens, creating a calm, supportive setting for care and recovery.
Minister Archer also acknowledged the challenges faced by patients, families and staff following the recent fire at the Spencer Clinic and announced that important progress has been made in restoring mental health care capacity at the North West Regional Hospital.
“I want to thank our staff for their hard work and dedication to supporting the community every day, but especially during this challenging time,” Minister Archer said.
“Remediation works to part of the existing Spencer Clinic site have now been completed, with 10 beds set to reopen by the end of this week.
“This includes a four-bed high care unit and a six-bed acute inpatient unit within the existing Spencer Clinic and High Dependency Unit footprint.
“In parallel, the building works on five subacute beds elsewhere on the North West Regional Hospital campus have been completed, with teams now in the process of commissioning the units before they open later this month.
“While restoring this capacity is significant in the interim, seeing work begin on the new Mental Health Precinct is a positive step to secure the future of mental health care in the North West.”
Vos Group are delivering the Mental Health Precinct, with its design shaped through engagement with clinicians, stakeholders and the community.
