By Sumeyya Ilanbey
The long-awaited $21 million health hub at Melton will open next month.
The Melton Health and Community Services Centre, on Barries Road, will be a one-stop health centre for the community, with programs covering indigenous health, chronic disease prevention and mental health, drug and alcohol services.
Djerriwarrh Health Services will be the lead tenant.
Its chief executive, Belinda Scott, said that following the complete roll-out of the information technology systems, the centre would open to the public.
“For our communities, it’s going to be one-stop shop for families in crisis … it should mean there are smoother transitions between services,” Ms Scott said.
“Often people, to manage their illness or chronic disease, need more than one person involved in their care.
“These groups come together to bridge those gaps.
“People who we are dealing with are the most vulnerable people in our community and so it’s about how you link them to care where they need it and remove some of the barriers for getting them the care.”
Prior to the 2014 state election, the Liberal government had announced it would commit $14 million for the centre.
When elected, the Labor government said it would honour this commitment. The health service providers contributed the remaining $7 million.
