Children's community mental health hub opens in the South West

• New $7.1 million Community Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (ICAMHS) hub officially opens in Bunbury
• Delivering a key recommendation of the Ministerial Taskforce into Public Mental Health Services for Infants, Children and Adolescents aged 0-18 years in Western Australia
• Cook Government delivers on commitment to establish integrated mental health support for children and young people in the region

 A new $7.1 million Community Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (ICAMHS) hub in the South West was officially opened by Mental Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson.

The service was developed in consultation with people with lived experience, clinicians and the local community, and will use an innovative model of care that provides a central point of contact for all children and young people needing mental health support in the region.

From here, a multidisciplinary team will deliver flexible, integrated mental health care for clients through face-to-face clinics, telehealth and community outreach, as well as providing access to specialist services for children with more complex needs.

The service will provide access to peer support workers who have a lived experience of using the mental health system as well as specialist ICAMHS Aboriginal Mental Health Workers who can provide cultural intervention and liaison services for families and clients.

ICAMHS will also work closely with community-based organisations including Headspace and Youth Focus, as well as State-wide service providers such as Perth Children's Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospital.

The development of Community ICAMHS was a key recommendation of the Ministerial Taskforce into Public Mental Health Services for Infants, Children and Adolescents aged 0-18 years in Western Australia, to transform mental health services for children and young people in WA.

Comments attributed to Mental Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:

"I'm extremely pleased to see this new service launched in the South West, providing greater support to children, young people and their families experiencing mental health issues.

"We know that timely access to assessment, care and specialty treatment for children and young people has a dramatic effect on their recovery.

"This new service model enhances the way clinicians work with children and their families and is designed to make care more accessible now and into the future."

Comments attributed to Bunbury MLA Don Punch:

"The Cook Government committed $7.1 million to establish this service and I'm proud this service is operating in the South West.

"This innovative model of care that provides a central point of contact for all children and young people needing mental health support in the South West."