3 months ago
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Queensland’s health minister has left the door open to reviewing all public psychiatric services in the state, after the suicides of two young people who had been treated on the Gold Coast.
Queensland Health announced at the weekend it had commissioned a four-person team to review Gold Coast Health’s Child and Youth Mental Health Service, based at Robina Hospital.
It came amid mounting pressure from the families of two people who took their own lives in the past five years after they were treated there.
Health Minister Tim Nicholls spoke about the review at a press conference at Redcliffe Hospital.Credit: Courtney Kruk
Asked on Monday whether he would consider a statewide review, Health Minister Tim Nicholls said he was open to considering “further work across the state”.
“People taking their own lives always leaves questions, and I understand the very real angst, anguish and concern that the families left behind [have],” Nicholls said.
“I’m considering a number of reviews, including some coronial reports as well as health service investigations into the model of care.
The service that treated the two young people is based at Robina Hospital on the Gold Coast.Credit: Queensland Health
“It’s important that we review models of care, particularly in mental health, to ensure that they are appropriate, that they are current, and that they are meeting the needs of people who present.”
On Saturday, Queensland Health’s chief psychiatrist Dr John Reilly extended his “deepest sympathies” to the families of those who had died.
He commended them “for their selfless advocacy and commitment to improving the way mental healthcare is delivered to young people”, adding that while their experiences would inform the review, it would not be “an investigation into any deaths or individual cases”.
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“[The review] will focus on the model of care currently adopted by the service and identify any opportunities to improve the care provided and mitigate preventable harm,” Reilly said.
“Reviews like this will help us strengthen the child and youth mental health system and ensure we are delivering suitable care.”
The review team will be led by Dr Paul Denborough, an experienced child and youth psychiatrist at Alfred Health in Victoria.
Whether its results will be made publicly available has not been decided.
The announcement came weeks after the government confirmed an inquest would be held into the suicides of three people in the mental health unit of the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane.
Another two people survived suicide attempts in the inpatient wards during this period.
The inquest followed an independent review published in 2024 that found staff shortages and inpatient facilities that were “no longer fit for purpose” at two psychiatric wards at the hospital.
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