A 12-bed public mental health facility in southern Tasmania has been closed while it addresses a rat infestation.<\/p>\n
Peacock House is the inpatient service of the wider Peacock Centre, which remains open.<\/p>\n
The Health Department, which operates the facility, said in a statement that after a “rodent issue” was noticed earlier this month, it immediately began industrial cleaning and pest control.<\/p>\n
The department said clients were being cared for at “appropriate alternative mental health services that meet their clinical needs”.<\/p>\n
“Affected staff are being redeployed to other acute mental health services within the south,” it said.<\/p>\n
The department also said it “engaged with WorkSafe Tasmania, an occupational hygienist and facilities management in relation to remedial works required to rectify this issue”.<\/p>\n
The broader Peacock Centre includes Safe Haven, for people who are suicidal or in acute mental health distress, and the Mental Health Integration Hub.<\/p>\n
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The Peacock Centre provides a dedicated emergency support service for people with acute mental illness. (ABC Hobart: Jo Spargo)<\/p>\n
Both are operating normally, the department said, while Peacock House would re-open “as soon as it is appropriate to do so”.<\/p>\n
Emily Shepherd, from the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, said the beds were being closed as patients were discharged, and it welcomed the fact that Statewide Mental Health Services had been “proactive in managing this issue”.<\/p>\n
The Health Department said an occupational hygienist was scheduled to inspect the site today.<\/p>\n
Peacock Centre’s troubled history<\/p>\n
The North Hobart centre has been substantially damaged by two fires in the past decade.<\/p>\n
A 54-year-old man was found guilty of arson after setting fire to the centre’s reception area in 2016.<\/p>\n
The heritage building was in the process of being rebuilt when it was again damaged by a deliberately lit blaze on Christmas Eve, 2021.<\/p>\n
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The Peacock Centre was first damaged by fire in 2016. (Supplied: Nikki Long)<\/p>\n
Tash Smyth, the chief executive of Mental Health Lived Experience Tasmania, told ABC Mornings she was confident people could still find the help they needed during the closure.<\/p>\n
But she said Peacock House was a “vital service” and needed to get “back up and running as soon as possible”.<\/p>\n
Therapists, patients concerned over Hobart Clinic closure<\/a><\/p>\n For more than four decades, The Hobart Clinic has provided private mental health services to clients. Since the announcement of its October closure, clinic staff, therapists and patients have warned of the negative impact on those \u00a0reliant on the service.<\/p>\n “We have wanted this type of service for years,” she said.<\/p>\n “And we’ve gotta remember the other services that the Peacock Centre offers, as in the Safe Haven and the Integration Centre.”<\/p>\n “Having all of these combined in a non-clinical setting is just vital.”<\/p>\n Ms Smyth encouraged people in need to call the Access Mental Health Phoneline<\/a> on 1800 332 388<\/a>.<\/p>\n State’s mental health beds decline<\/p>\n Dedicated mental health services in Tasmania have come under strain in recent years.<\/p>\n In 2023, the St Helen’s Private Hospital in Hobart closed after operator Healthscope said it could not afford to maintain the heritage building<\/a>.<\/p>\n St Helen’s offered 31 inpatient mental health beds and an eight-bed mother and baby unit for mothers needing help with sleep and post-natal mental health problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n The hospital also treated people with drug and alcohol-related challenges.<\/p>\n This year, the 27-bed Hobart Clinic in Rokeby \u2014 southern Tasmania’s remaining private mental health facility \u2014 closed for 17 days due to financial problems.<\/p>\n The Hobart Clinic has had financial troubles and re-opened after a rescue bid by former staff. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n