Werribee Mercy Hospital | Members Statement

Ms VAGHELA (Western Metropolitan): On Thursday, 16 May 2019, I had the opportunity to attend the Werribee Mercy Hospital to tour their mother-baby unit and learn more about their services, including their early intervention psychosocial support response. I was joined by my parliamentary colleagues the Minister for Mental Health, the Honourable Martin Foley; the Treasurer, Tim Pallas; together with other state and federal MPs, Sarah Connolly, Ingrid Stitt and Joanne Ryan. During our visit Minister Foley announced funding to support the early intervention psychosocial support response program. I was delighted to hear that the Mercy Health initiative was successful in receiving $2.8 million over two years in partnership with Breakthru to deliver psychological support to people with mental illness. The mother-baby unit at Werribee Mercy Hospital is a mental health inpatient unit where mothers and babies can be admitted to receive care for mental health conditions from birth up until their baby is 12 months old. I would like to extend my thanks to the staff at Werribee Mercy Hospital for their hospitality and to the clients of Werribee Mercy Hospital for sharing their experiences with us. I am glad to be part of an Andrews Labor government that is committed to ensuring Victorians who have a psychological disability in my electorate of Western Metropolitan Region have access to high-quality and timely support services.