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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 4213 ..

Several of these reports focus on areas of particular need including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, those suffering from HIV/AIDS and those with an intellectual disability or acquired brain injury.

Clearly, the issue of improving continuity of care for people with a mental dysfunction is one of the major challenges we must face.

As part of that continuity of care, we have allocated an additional $100,000 in the 1996-97 Budget to establish a new mental health discharge liaison program at The Canberra Hospital.

Two nurses will be employed to improve linkages between the acute psychiatric unit and the Accident and Emergency Department at TCH, and to provide improved discharge planning and follow-up with clients discharged from the Hospital into community settings.

This Government has also recently approved the construction of the Territory's first private psychiatric facility on the Bruce campus of Calvary Hospital.

This $2.5 million project, due for completion in late 1997, will feature a 20 bed facility.

It will effectively increase the number of acute beds in the ACT by 30 per cent.

A mix of services will be offered, some requiring residential stays, others through consultations and attendance at day programs and through followup community care.

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