Our Mental Health Service

At some stage in their lives around 40% of the population will experience some form of mental disorder. At any one point in time around 12% of our population will be affected by moderate to severe mental illness. With appropriate treatment and support, most people will recover and go on to lead fulfilling lives.

The Sydney Local Health District Mental Health Service is a specialised clinical service, managing and providing mental health care across the Sydney and Inner Western Sydney region. We are a public, Government funded organisation servicing a population of around 700,000 people.

Mental health services are provided by a multidisciplinary team of mental health professionals including consultant psychiatrists, psychiatric registrars, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, psychologists, exercise physiologists, dieticians and administrative staff. The multidisciplinary team combines specialised skills and expertise and works together to provide high quality mental health care.

Community-based mental health services operate in the Camperdown, Canterbury, Croydon, Marrickville, and Redfern areas. Hospital-based mental health services are located at Concord Centre for Mental Health (Concord Hospital) and the Professor Marie Bashir Centre (Royal Prince Alfred Hospital).The Rivendell Unit (Thomas Walker Hospital) provides specialised child and adolescent services and is located adjacent to Concord Hospital.

Our services are open to everyone and are provided within hospital and community settings. We provide services for people throughout the many stages of their lives - from the very young to older members of our community. We also provide specialised services for the specific needs of our community. Specialist teams and programs include:

• Accommodation support
• Aboriginal Mental Health
• Carer Programs
• Child & Adolescent services
• Consumer Programs
• Consultation and liaison services
• Dual Disorder - developmental disability
• Dual disorder - substance abuse
• Eating disorders
• Leisure and recreational services
• Older Person mental health services
• Physical Health & Metabolic Programs
• Promotion, Prevention & Early Intervention
• Rehabilitation and recovery services
• Services for victims of torture and trauma
• Transcultural Mental Health Programs

Our mental health service works closely with many other health departments and services including Community Health Services, Drug Health Services, Aged Care and Rehabilitation Services. We also partner with many non-government organisations including: the Aboriginal Medical Service; One Door Mental Health; Housing and Accommodation Support.

Initiative (HASI); Person Helpers & Mentors Program; Aftercare; Neami National; New Horizons; Headspace; Flourish Australia; and Mission Australia.

Our Mental Health staff is committed to providing patient and family centred care. We strive to provide a quality service that empowers individuals to deal with mental health issues in a manner that allows them to thrive and flourish. The service maintains current accreditation with the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards against its National Safety and Quality Health Services Standards (NSQHSS).