![\"Regional](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4KUDGCT_20240223_MASON_CLINIC_0005_jpg.jpeg\")
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\nThe clinic cares for people with serious mental health problems or disabilities who have committed or who are charged with serious crimes.
\nPhoto: RNZ \/ Cole Eastham-Farrelly\n<\/p>\n
A new 60-bed mental health unit has opened at Auckland’s Mason Clinic, the country’s largest forensic psychiatric service.<\/p>\n
Health New Zealand said the $162 million, three-storey building called E T\u016b Wairua Hinengaro will replace leaky, ageing units with ongoing air quality issues.<\/p>\n
The clinic cares for people with serious mental health problems or disabilities who have committed or who are charged with serious crimes.<\/p>\n
Mental health and addiction national director Phil Grady said the new unit would result in better outcomes for patients and a better working environment for staff.<\/p>\n
“This facility represents the latest chapter in a long and important story, the evolution of the Mason Clinic and of forensic mental healthcare in New Zealand,” he said.<\/p>\n
“The true value of E T\u016b Wairua Hinengaro is that it enables improved models of care and gives staff new options to safely manage patients’ needs – options that were simply not possible in the old units.”<\/p>\n
The first patients were expected to move into the unit in late February.<\/p>\n
Health NZ said recruitment was underway for an additional 57 full-time staff and there had been a good response from candidates.<\/p>\n
E T\u016b Wairua Hinengaro, meaning quality of mind, was significantly bigger than the old units, with 10,000 square metres of floor space, Health NZ said.<\/p>\n
It said the unit was a safe, recovery-focused place, featuring secure courtyards and enhanced ventilation.<\/p>\n