Specialist mental health clinic opens at Health City

Six psychiatrists to start work in two new specialist medical suites which opened last month in Health City Springfield Central will help bolster mental health services in the region and reduce wait times for patients.

And in a further boost, Omega Mind Clinics co-director Dr. Jasvinder Singh, an experienced consultant neuropsychiatrist, said plans were already in place to double the number of specialist staff next year to improve patient access to psychiatric services.

Regarding the three-month wait list, Dr. Singh said specialists “around the world” were experiencing an increased presentation in people with mental health issues, most of it on the back of COVID-19.

“While the general public awareness of mental health conditions has risen in recent years, there is an increasing need for specialist mental health services right across the board,” Dr. Singh said.

“At Omega Mind Clinics, we recognise the gap between need and availability of services and have established our clinic to help serve our community with specialised, local support.

“We will be working very closely with primary care physicians in providing excellent mental health care to the patients. We are thankful to the GPs for recognising our services at such an early stage thereby encouraging us to work even harder in achieving a common goal of better patient care.

“We are proud to support Springfield and the southeast Queensland region. We bring with us a diverse range of cultural experience and education.”

Dr. Singh said Omega Mind Clinics was a “multi-cultural practice, catering to the unique needs and challenges for people with varied backgrounds”.

“We draw upon our own diverse backgrounds, as well as our extensive international training across the UK, US and Australia,” he said. “Our highly-trained psychiatrists diagnose and treat a wide range of mental health and neuropsychiatric conditions across the different age group – i.e. children, adult and old age.”

Dr. Singh said the clinics are perfectly positioned to tap into growing demand in Springfield, where the population of 46,000 is expected to triple over the next two decades.

He said another important factor in their decision to set up in Springfield City was the proximity to the new 174-bed Mater Public Hospital to be built in Health City Springfield Central, a 52-hectare integrated health precinct which houses the specialist medical suites and the existing 80-bed Mater Private Hospital.

“We genuinely are very excited about the role we will play moving forward, and the fact that we will be working side-by-side with other health-related specialists in the region,” he said.

“We’ve already put in plans in place to expand our service by introducing TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) and other novel therapies and hope to double the number of our psychiatrists and bring in psychologists to join our team in the New Year, with that number to hopefully keep growing”.

SCG Commercial Development director, Umah Ranchigoda welcomed Omega Mind Clinics to Health City.

“The pandemic has shown just how much we need a strong healthcare system in place to care for the community,” Ms Ranchigoda said. “Clearly, while this is not just an issue for Springfield City, we want to work proactively – rather than reactively – with health professionals like Omega Mind Clinics to ensure we address the long-term health care needs of the entire region.”

Ms. Ranchigoda said SCG had sold 12 suites of its 30 specialist medical suites since the State Government announced in May that it planned to open the new Mater Public Hospital in 2024, with just six remaining on the market.

“Certainly, the announcement has generated a lot of interest from medical specialists and allied health professionals wanting to establish themselves in our city.”

SCG Chairman Maha Sinnathamby said the new hospital would “make a huge difference” to the region’s ability to recruit and retain high-caliber specialists.

“Being the master planner for this corridor, we always knew that health had to be an integral part of the services offered,” he said.

“Filling our medical suites years before the hospital even opens, means additional specialist services being closer to the homes of residents, saving more of our community from having to travel to Brisbane for care, which makes a big difference to patients and their families because it reduces stress and the cost burden.”