Page 1039 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 24 March 2015
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Obviously there is a lot of interest in a range of other services that I know are already seeing increases in demand—for example, hydrotherapy. The University of Canberra public hospital will provide a new hydrotherapy capacity for the community. This is, I know, a service very highly valued by a large number of people in the community.
But there will be other similar services. There will be a therapy mobility garden space. There will be specially designed wards with, for example, gymnasium facilities also designed to make sure that we encourage activity as part of rehabilitation for that ageing population.
So this investment is a very important one. It is part of the bigger picture that the government has for the growth and development of the University of Canberra. We should proudly be a university city. We should proudly be a city that emphasises, supports and facilitates its natural strengths, and there is no doubt that our natural strengths include our tertiary education sector. The investment of over $100 million in the University of Canberra campus, in the new University of Canberra public hospital, is part of that bigger picture, as well as ensuring we meet the needs of an ageing population.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Porter.
MS PORTER: Minister, how will the UCPH improve access to health care for people with a mental illness?
MR CORBELL: This will be a very important facility for people with a mental illness. I thank Ms Porter for her supplementary. It is designed to work in a complementary manner with the new secure mental health unit, on which we know construction is about to commence. That secure mental health unit will address patients with very high needs and the University of Canberra public hospital will provide a broader range of services for the less acute needs of people with a mental illness.
In particular, it will provide facilities that are focused on providing suitable short-stay accommodation for people with mental illness, where they need assistance with rehabilitation or indeed respite. That is very important in the context of mental health services. We know that ageing facilities like Brian Hennessy House will need to be transitioned away from, and the University of Canberra hospital is designed to help meet the replacement, in part, of those services. So there is a very important emphasis on mental health as part of the broader focus on the rehabilitation of people as they leave the tertiary treatment sector, whether that is in relation to physical injury or whether it is in relation to more serious mental illness.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Fitzharris.
MS FITZHARRIS: Minister, how will the UCPH improve education and training options for Canberra students?
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