The Miles Government is investing $2 million annually towards the establishment of the new Queensland Centre of Excellence in Intellectual and Developmental Disability Mental Health (QCEAIDH) at Mater’s South Brisbane campus.
Approximately 80,000 Queenslanders live with an intellectual or developmental disability and this centre will better support the mental health needs of children and adults living with an intellectual and developmental disability.
The recently opened centre delivered by Mater Research Limited, will provide clinical leadership through a networked, state-wide approach in education and training advice, capacity building and support, specialist clinical advice and research.
Its new model of service has been co-designed alongside key stakeholders and people living with an intellectual and developmental disability to support and foster improved mental health.
The centre is part of the Miles Government’s $51.5 million investment over four years to establish services that better support the mental health needs of children and adults living with an intellectual and developmental disability.
In partnership with the Centre for Excellence, dedicated specialist teams will be progressively rolled out across 12 HHSs including Metro North, Metro South, Gold Coast, Cairns and Hinterland, Central Queensland, Townsville, Darling Downs, Sunshine Coast, West Moreton, Mackay, Wide Bay, and Children’s Health Queensland.
Four HHSs will provide outreach support to rural and remote regions, with all new teams recruited across the next two full financial years.
The 4 HHSs who will provide the outreach support to rural and remote regions, are:
- Townsville to North West
- Cairns to Torres and Cape
- Darling Downs to South West
- Central Queensland to Central West
The Mater Intellectual Disability and Autism Service (MIDAS) will also receive an uplift in resources as part of this initiative.
The initiative progresses the Miles Government’s response to Recommendation 9 of the 2022 Queensland Parliamentary Mental Health Select Committee’s Inquiryinto the opportunities to improve mental health outcomes for Queenslanders to ‘enhance mental health services for people living with intellectual or developmental disability’.
For North Queensland patient Eli Waddell, the QCEAIDH clinic has been a ‘life-saver’.
The 28-year-old lives with Down syndrome, autism, ADHD and severe mental health challenges.
Eli’s mum Linda Waddell, from Tully, said thousands of Australian families would benefit from the new centre.
This investment is part of the Miles Government’s $1.645 billion Better Care Together plan to improve mental health, alcohol and other drug services across the state.
