For Patients and Visitors
Older Adults Mental Health Inpatient units are located at the Bundoora Centre and Broadmeadows Hospital. These units provide assessment and treatment to older adults during an acute phase of mental illness, until recovery enables them to be treated effectively and safely in a community-based setting.
What can I expect from the service?
Care is provided by a multidisciplinary team. You are the most important person in your mental health care team.
If you are able to make decisions for yourself, members of the team will work in partnership with you in making decisions about your care. Working with the team will help you achieve your highest level of recovery.
Your mental health care team includes:
Medical staff
Your doctors (Consultant Psychiatrist, Psychiatry Registrar and Intern) will supervise your overall recovery program and will diagnose your condition and prescribe suitable treatment, including medications.
Nursing staff
Nursing staff are on duty 24 hours a day. They will provide you with both physical and mental health nursing care. If a problem arises, they will ensure it is dealt with by the appropriate person in the healthcare team.
Social Worker
The social worker will work with you, your family/carer and other supports to address various social and emotional issues, including legal, financial, accommodation, family/relationship, social support, and personal empowerment issues. Social workers will also arrange meetings between you, your family and the healthcare team (called ‘family meetings’) to discuss your recovery process.
You may also be seen by the following health professionals:
Occupational Therapist
The occupational therapist focuses on how your illness and admission impacts on what you want to, need to and have to do. An occupational therapist can support your return home by assessing how you manage looking after yourself, how you complete your home tasks, or how you connect with your community.
Psychologist
The psychologist can assist you by talking through issues regarding your thinking, behaviour and mood. The psychologist can help you to implement strategies to improve the way you feel and function in your life.
Family/Carers
Your family/carer and friends are also an integral and important part of your mental health care team.
Your family/carer may be invited to participate in the care planning and discharge planning for you. In most cases, a meeting will be held in the early stages of your admission, in order to share information and to develop a care plan. Later on, there will be a meeting to prepare for your discharge from hospital.
Your family/carer may contact any of the team to discuss issues or concerns at any time. If there are a large number of family members, we ask that you nominate someone to be the primary contact.
Case Manager
If you have Key Clinician or Case Manager, they will keep in touch with you while you are an inpatient. Your Key Clinician or Case Manager will also be involved in planning your discharge from the Unit. If you do not have a Key Clinician or Case Manager already, you may be allocated one to support you when you leave hospital.
What do I bring/need for my stay?
What to bring to hospital
- Comfortable day clothes
- Nightwear
- Low heeled, well-fitting, non-slip footwear
- Toiletries
- A small amount of money for minor purchases (e.g. coffee, newspaper)
- Aids and devices (please advise nursing staff if you have dentures, hearing aids, mobility aids or falls prevention aids)
- Medicare Card; Repatriation File Number if you are eligible for Department of Veteran Affairs’ entitlements; Full details of your health insurance cover (if you have cover)
- Any current medications. These must be handed to the nurse in charge on arrival
What to avoid bringing to hospital
- Valuables, such as jewelry or large amounts of money
- Alcohol or non-prescribed drugs
- Sharp objects such as scissors, files, etc. (these must be handed to the nurse in charge)
- Plastic bags (the Unit is a ‘plastic bag-free’ zone)
- Any type of scarf, shawl, wrap or pashmina
- Food from home – Please discuss with Nurse Unit Manager or Nurse in Charge prior to bringing food in.
Contact us
To enquire about your referral:
Contact the NH Specialist Older Adults Consultation Service on 1300 NSOACS (1300 676 227)
For other enquiries:
Broadmeadow’s Older Adult Mental Health Inpatient Unit
Broadmeadow’s Health Service
35 Johnstone Street
Broadmeadows Vic 3083
Telephone: (03) 8345 5487
KAW Older Adults Mental Health Inpatient Unit
Bundoora Centre
1231 Plenty Road
Bundoora VIC 3083
Telephone (03) 9495 3165
For Health Professionals
Service Overview
Older Adults Mental Health Inpatient units are located at the Bundoora Centre and Broadmeadows Hospital and primarily serve the needs of the northern, north east and north west regions of metropolitan Melbourne. These units provide assessment and treatment to older people during an acute phase of mental illness, until recovery enables them to be treated in a community-based setting.
The Specialist Older Adults Consultation Service (SOACS) manages access to the Older Adult Mental Health unit beds and also supports consumers in the community following discharge from the Units.
Inclusion criteria:
Older Adults Mental Health services are specialist mental health services provided to individuals with existing complex mental illness and those who develop a mental illness later in life. Many people admitted to our Inpatient Units, at least in the early stages of an admission, are under the care of the Mental Health & Wellbeing Act 2022.
How to Refer:
To make a referral, contact the NH Older Adults triage service on 1300 676 227 (1300 NSOACS)
Alternative service options:
Contact the Triage service on 1300 676 227 (1300 NSOACS)
Director/Head of Unit:
Lisa Carter
Director of Nursing and Operations, Older Adults Mental Health
Dr Julie Jambon
Director of Clinical Services – Older Adults Mental Health
Enquiries:
Broadmeadows Older Adult Mental Health Inpatient Unit
Broadmeadows Health Service
35 Johnstone Street
Broadmeadows Vic 3083
Telephone: (03) 8345 5487
KAW Older Adults Mental Health Inpatient Unit
Bundoora Centre
1231 Plenty Road
Bundoora VIC 3083
Telephone (03) 9495 3165
