'Not a hospital, it was a business': Calls for investigation into Melbourne mental health clinic

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Former patients and staff raise concerns about the standard of treatment and facilities at Essendon Private Clinic, in Melbourne's north-west. The health group running the hospital rejects the allegations, saying high quality patient care is at the 'core of our business'.

At a later point in her stay, Alyce asked if one of the nurses could look at her self-harm wounds which she had inflicted before admission.

Alyce and other patients said it was also easy for people to smuggle things in to harm themselves, and proper bag checks didn't always occur. It said patient searches were done by two staff when patients were admitted or returned from leave, which is in line with National Standards for Mental Health Services.

"And while this is also happening, nurses and receptionists and a unit manager are walking past me. And I'm like, bawling my eyes out," she said.Another time, she said many of the patients were scared and upset after another patient had an episode.Former staff express concerns about standards Ms Anderson said although many nurses were doing their best, there was high turnover of staff and a reliance on agency workers with no mental health training.

She advertises her services privately as a crystal healer who specialises in detecting energy imbalances and emotional blocks.Some patients 'felt worse' after therapy sessions They also alleged the therapy team was strongly encouraged to get recently discharged patients to continue to attend the therapy program as an outpatient, regardless of whether they needed it, as this was how the hospital could make extra revenue.They did not comment on how many nurses had mental health qualifications in June, but said EPC now had eight out of 32 nurses who had post-graduate training in mental health.

They said Macquarie Health used agency staff on occasion and its preference was to engage those with post-graduate mental health training. "Each member has an appropriate tertiary qualification that is relevant to their qualification and scope of practice within our therapist guidelines," the spokesperson said.

She alleges basic medical equipment such as blood pressure and ECG machines were broken, and not replaced. He believed he'd been given the wrong medication that day, but the cause of his health issues was never determined. Ms Anderson said emergency call bells in patient rooms were sometimes broken, and patients would be found in crisis or collapsed on the floor when there was a scheduled check.

"Where a maintenance issue represents a threat to the safety and well-being of patients, it is prioritised and addressed accordingly."Calls for clinic to be investigated

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The more money government give to patients the less is given to health care workers! This is the dilemma for health care unions! Who do they support, their members or patients?

Every private hospital is this way, often the conditions are worse than just going public. They should be in the bin alongside private schools.

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