A state as large as Queensland should have a high-level mental health facility for adolescents or risk putting strain on other services, a senior NSW psychiatrist says.
The commission of inquiry into the Barrett Adolescent Psychiatric Centre began in the Brisbane Magistrates Court this week tasked with investigating issues surrounding the controversial closure of the Wacol centre.
"For a state the size of Queensland, I consider that a lack of (such a) service for adolescents will create difficulties and put pressure on the other levels of service, including 'bed block' for acute inpatient units," Professor Philip Hazell, of the Thomas Walker Hospital (Rivendell) Child Adolescent and Family Mental Health Services in NSW, said in his affidavit to the inquiry.
