Mental Health
If you or someone you know needs help ring the Mental Health Line.
The Mental Health Line offers:
- professional help and advice
- referrals to local mental health services.
It ‘s staffed by mental health professionals who will ask questions to determine if you or, the person you are concerned about, needs ongoing mental health care and how urgently it’s needed.
They can put you in contact with the most relevant mental health service for children, teens, adults and older people.
The Mental Health Line is available to everyone in NSW and operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 1800 011 511
Mid North Coast Local Health District Mental Health services
MNCLHD has three acute adult inpatient units and one rehabilitation unit. The inpatient mental health units operate as a single service for the District resulting in consumers sometimes requiring admission and transfer between units based on needs and severity of illness.
All options to treat the consumer in the least restrictive environment are exhausted prior to consideration for inpatient treatment. If inpatient treatment is required, admission to the inpatient units can occur 24 hours a day.
Coffs Harbour Acute Mental Health Unit (CHAMHU)
The CHAMHU has thirty declared beds that has the capability to segregate six acute beds to support the care of patients who have different care and observation needs.
Health care staff include nurses, psychiatrists, registrars, pharmacist, social worker, clinical nurse educator, health services assistants, hotel services staff and administrative staff.
The catchment area for the unit is primarily between Eungai Rail south of Coffs Harbour and Red Rock to the north.
Within the Coffs Harbour catchment there are three Local Government Areas (LGA’s) – Nambucca LGA covering Macksville and Nambucca Heads; Bellingen LGA covering Bellingen and Dorrigo; Coffs Harbour LGA covering Coffs Harbour and Woolgoolga.
Contact
Coffs Harbour Health Campus
342 Pacific Highway
Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
Phone: 02 6656 7974
Kempsey Mental Health Inpatient Unit
Kempsey Mental Health Inpatient Unit is a ten bed voluntary unit. The Unit operates as an integrated service with the Port Macquarie Mental Health Inpatient Unit and patients who are declared under the Mental Health Act are admitted to the Port Macquarie or the Coffs Harbour in-patient unit.
Health care staff include nurses, psychiatrist, registrar, activity officer, health security assistants and administrative worker.
Contact
Kempsey District Hospital
119 River Street
KEMPSEY NSW 2440
Phone: 02 6562 0256
Port Macquarie Mental Health Inpatient Unit
Port Macquarie Mental Health Inpatient unit (Ward 1A) is a twelve bed declared mental health in-patient unit that has the capability to segregate four acute beds to support the care of patients who have different care and observation needs.
Health care staff include nursing staff, psychiatrist, psychiatric registrar, a junior medical officer, social worker, activity officer, health services assistants and administrative workers.
The catchment area for the inpatient unit extends from Johns River in the south to Macksville in the north and out to the west as far as Ginger Creek.
Contact
Port Macquarie Base Hospital
Wrights Road
Port Macquarie NSW 2444
Phone: 02 5524 2331
The North Coast Mental Health Rehabilitation Unit is a declared twenty bed inpatient mental health rehabilitation unit that accepts both voluntary patients and people detained under the Mental Health Act 2007. The expected length of stay is between three to six months.
The unit provides a tertiary service, patients referred from mental health services of the Mid North Coast and Northern NSW Local Health Districts. Referrals are assessed against eligibility criteria with face to face or videoconference meeting.
The focus of admission is mental health recovery which aims to help the patient achieve their full potential despite their illness.
The service provides multidisciplinary care by nursing, psychiatry, medicine, clinical psychology, social work and occupational therapy health care staff.
Contact
Coffs Harbour Health Campus
342 Pacific Highway
Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
Phone: 02 6656 5600
Specialist child and adolescent mental health inpatient units are provided at Lismore Kamala Unit and Newcastle Nexus unit.
Referrals can be made by the Mental Health Line (1800 011 511) for further assessment by Youth and Family Teams.
If the young person is in crisis referrals can be made via local Emergency Departments with support provided by mental health services or Child and Adolescent Mental Health Consultation Liaison, following a formal and comprehensive mental health assessment.
Referrals will also be considered from private psychiatrists and psychologists and school counsellors.
Contact
Lismore Child and Adolescent Unit
Lismore Base Hospital
60 Uralba Street
Lismore NSW 2480
Phone: 02 6620 7900
Newcastle Nexus Child and Adolescent Unit
John Hunter Hospital
New Lambton Heights NSW 2305
Phone: 02 4985 5800
Getting On Track In Time (GotIt!)
The Got It! Program is an early intervention wellbeing program for children in Kindergarten to year two delivered in public primary schools across the Mid North Coast Local Health District.
The program is designed for young children and their families, when early intervention is likely to be most effective to help identify social and emotional challenges as well as support parents/carers.
“Getting help and support early to address children’s social and emotional difficulties will achieve better outcomes for the child, their family and the school community.” Getting On Track In Time – Got It! Program delivery implementation guidelines.
The program provides families an opportunity to be part of a fun and supportive group that can improve children’s prosocial and emotion regulation skills.
Teacher professional development is provided, as well as support to deliver a universal program called Second Step as a whole-of-school social and emotional wellbeing approach (all students K-6).
Got It! delivers a targeted program to a small group of children (6-8) and their parent/carer called ‘Exploring Together’.
Further information
If you would like further information about this program or related information, click on the links below:
- Got It! information brochure
- Got It! School Expression of Interest form
- Information for teachers, principals and parents (how Got It! runs in schools)
- Program delivery – Implementation Guidelines
- Second Step—Social Emotional Learning (whole of school program)
- Testimonies
- Useful Websites
- Helpful videos for parents
- Zones of Regulation book list
Referral process
NOTE: individual family referrals are not available to this service.
If you would like this program delivered in your school, please encourage your principal to complete an expression of interest.
Contact
Perinatal, Child and Youth Mental Health Programs
35 Morton Street
Port Macquarie 2444
Phone: 02 65892598
Fax: 02 6584 7050
Email: MNCLHD-GotIt@health.nsw.gov.au
Bindarray Clinic is a private, twelve bed mental health facility located at Baringa Private Hospital. All patients are admitted on a voluntary basis to the clinic under the care of a specialist psychiatrist who is supported by a team of highly trained nurses, psychologists and other allied health professionals.
The care-based treatments usually include a combination of:
- learning new coping strategies
- lifestyle changes (including not using alcohol and recreational drugs)
- taking medications, and/or
- individual therapy (such as cognitive behavioural therapy)
- Electroconvulsive therapy.
Contact
Bindarray Clinic – Baringa Private Hospital
31 Mackays Road
Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
Phone: (02) 6659 4400
Fax: (02) 6659 4456
Community mental health services are available in Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Kempsey, and from several satellite sites across the District including Macksville, Bellingen, Woolgoolga and South West Rocks.
New referrals are triaged and received from the Mental Health Access Line 1800 011 511.
Internally referrals are directly received from the Emergency Department (ED), general wards and mental health inpatient units.
Health care staff include: psychologists, clinical psychologist, medical officers, Aboriginal liaison officers, welfare support workers, peer support workers, social workers and nurses.
We provide a range of specialist mental health services including:
- Aboriginal Mental Health
- Bushfire Recovery Program
- Eating disorders
- Electro Convulsive Therapy
- Farmgate/Rural counselling
- Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI)
- Peer Support Services
- Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Consultation and Liaison Service (PIMH)
- Virtual Mental Health
- School Link Program.
To find our further information about these services call the Mental Health Access Line 1800 011 511.