Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with NT’s first Private Mental Health Treatment Facility General Manager Professor Jo Seiler

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Katie Woolf spoke with NT’s first Private Mental Health Treatment Facility General Manager Professor Jo Seiler · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: If you want to know what's happening on the local
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  Speaker 1: political landscape, Katie Wolf has it covered on three sixty.
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  Speaker 1: Every one is listening Mixed one oh four point nine.
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  Speaker 1: Last night was the official opening of the Darwin Clinic,
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  Speaker 1: which is the Northern Territory's first private mental health treatment facility.
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  Speaker 1: And joining me on the line right now is the
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  Speaker 1: general manager, Professor Joe Joe Sila. Good morning to you, Joe.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: How are you really well? Thank you so very much
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  Speaker 1: for your time. Firstly, how did that official opening go
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  Speaker 1: last night?
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  Speaker 2: It was pretty special, Thank you, Katie. It was pretty special.
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  Speaker 2: It was quite historic for healthcare in the Northern Territory,
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  Speaker 2: so it was really lovely. Yeah, thank you. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: And it is obviously, like I said, the Northern territories
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  Speaker 1: first private mental health treatment facility. How important is it
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  Speaker 1: that the Darwin Private Hospital has a mental health clinic?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, look, it's extremely important.
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  Speaker 1: You know.
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  Speaker 2: For us, it is around expanding the services at darn
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  Speaker 2: Private which we offer. For us, it's about meeting the
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  Speaker 2: needs of a community. For us, it's about plugging just
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  Speaker 2: a little gap in what's missing within the mental health
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  Speaker 2: space and it saves territories from leaving Darwin for a
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  Speaker 2: mental health condition. So it does, it's really important to us.
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  Speaker 1: And I would imagine as well that you know, sometimes
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  Speaker 1: being able to access this kind of assistance if you've
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  Speaker 1: got to travel into state, that can be quite difficult
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  Speaker 1: for some people and some families because a lot of
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  Speaker 1: us need those support networks around us absolutely.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, you know, many of us have come from elsewhere,
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  Speaker 2: many of us are here with our families with minimal
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  Speaker 2: support services around and so then to then you know,
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  Speaker 2: have to travel into state for a mental health condition,
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  Speaker 2: I can appreciate, would just be very difficult for people.
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  Speaker 1: Now what does it mean for Territorians in terms of
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  Speaker 1: being able to access this service?
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  Speaker 2: Yep, sure so te for those patients that have private
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  Speaker 2: health insurance, it does allow them access to this unit.
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  Speaker 2: But then again for those patients who don't have private
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  Speaker 2: health insurance, there is a model which we currently have
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  Speaker 2: within our private where there's a fee for service option
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  Speaker 2: available to people as well to be cared for by
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  Speaker 2: their psychiatrist within an impatient unit. So that's available to everybody.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's really good to hear because I know that
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  Speaker 1: for some people, if they're listening and they don't have
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  Speaker 1: that private health. If there is that other option, it
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  Speaker 1: does make it more accessible for everybody.
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  Speaker 2: Correct, that's correct. Which is a service that we offer
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  Speaker 2: through the hostel today anyway, this is just an extension
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  Speaker 2: in service that we're providing.
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  Speaker 1: Now, how many beds or how many people will you
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  Speaker 1: be able to treat at various or any one time? Yeah?
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  Speaker 2: Sure. So the unit we've created has eighteen beds, eighteen
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  Speaker 2: in patient beds or single rooms. There is also an
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  Speaker 2: associated day therapy program as well, where we'll be offering
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  Speaker 2: seven day programs normally about six weeks in duration. So
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  Speaker 2: we're anticipating over the next twelve months with both units functional,
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  Speaker 2: about five thousand people will be coming through that unit.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, it does seem as though, you know, there's been
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  Speaker 1: a real need for this for some time. It's taken,
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  Speaker 1: it has taken well, you know, it's the fact that
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  Speaker 1: this is the first of its kind, I think demonstrates
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  Speaker 1: that it's taken an awfully long time to get to
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  Speaker 1: this point, hasn't it.
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  Speaker 2: Look yep, you know, this has been eighteen months in
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  Speaker 2: the making for us where you know, commercial entity, business
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  Speaker 2: case development, sixteen million dollars has been invested into this unit,
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  Speaker 2: twelve months to build the building and we started admitting
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  Speaker 2: patients over the last couple of weeks. So from from
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  Speaker 2: a healthcare point of view, this what we've created has
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  Speaker 2: actually been quite quick, so we're we're pretty proud about
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  Speaker 2: that as well.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, now, what areas are you you know, what areas
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  Speaker 1: will the clinic actually be able to focus on, I
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  Speaker 1: guess or what specialized areas could you focus on in there?
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  Speaker 1: If there are people listening this morning who are thinking, look,
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  Speaker 1: this could be something that I need.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, sure, Katie. So in the main, people who have
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  Speaker 2: a diagnosis of anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress, have an
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  Speaker 2: addiction an alcohol or a drug addiction. This is an
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  Speaker 2: AOD unit in here as well where patients can withdraw
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  Speaker 2: safely and people. So in the main, they're the type
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  Speaker 2: of areas of mental health illness will be able to treat.
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  Speaker 1: And how's the resourcing going for the clinic, Joe has
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  Speaker 1: been Has it been difficult to find the staff that
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  Speaker 1: you need or is it something that you've been able
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  Speaker 1: to do quite easily.
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  Speaker 2: I've looked nothing in healthcare in terms of recruitment is easy, Kating.
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  Speaker 2: But over the last month, particularly with COVID, recruiting has
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  Speaker 2: been difficult. But I can hand on heart say we've
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  Speaker 2: got a full compliment of staff to meet our unit.
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  Speaker 2: We have nurses who are trained in mental health. We
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  Speaker 2: have Allied Health Confident with psychologists, social workers and occupational
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  Speaker 2: therapists in there as well, and we have psychiatrists who
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  Speaker 2: will be who will have a private practice within then
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  Speaker 2: private hospel. That's all been done within the last six months.
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  Speaker 1: Well, like you said, you know, it's not all. It's
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  Speaker 1: not easy, I guess to staff something like this, and
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  Speaker 1: you know, particularly when you're talking about a health facility
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  Speaker 1: in COVID times, it would have been a difficult one.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, we all have challenges and twenty twenty was interesting,
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  Speaker 2: but we were able to meet the deadline opening unit
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  Speaker 2: within our time frames and here we are today.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I've no doubt that there will be people listening
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  Speaker 1: this morning who who maybe after a bit more information,
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  Speaker 1: who maybe have a loved one who they might need
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  Speaker 1: to get in contact, you know, you know, maybe they're
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  Speaker 1: just thinking that this facility may be able to help
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  Speaker 1: them or to help a loved one. Where can they
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  Speaker 1: go to if there may be after a little bit
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  Speaker 1: more information or want to ask a few more questions.
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  Speaker 2: Sure, so they can always contact on private hostel. We
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  Speaker 2: can refer them to the unit and speak to our clinicians.
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  Speaker 2: The other option available for our people within the community
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  Speaker 2: is to go and speak to you GP that GPS
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  Speaker 2: Indwen are aware of this facility. There is an avenue
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  Speaker 2: to access the unit via a GP, so there are
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  Speaker 2: a couple of options available.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I really I really appreciate your time this morning, Joe,
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  Speaker 1: and congratulations on opening that the facility last night. And
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  Speaker 1: no doubt it is going to be incredibly beneficial to
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  Speaker 1: a lot of our wonderful territories.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you Katy very much. I'm glad I could add
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  Speaker 2: value to our community.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you. Yeah, thank you so much this morning, Joe.
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  Speaker 1: We appreciate your time. That is the general manager there,
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  Speaker 1: Professor Joe Seeler, And you know, I know that at
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  Speaker 1: different times we've spoken, I've spoken two people in the
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  Speaker 1: community who have got concerns and who have not felt
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  Speaker 1: as though they may be able to head somewhere where
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  Speaker 1: they're able to get that support. So let's hope that
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory's first private mental health treatment facility is
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  Speaker 1: going to be the step that some people need,