About us

The Melbourne Children’s Campus has endorsed the development of an innovative, Campus-wide Mental Health Strategy 2021 – 2025 (the Strategy). The Strategy sets out the vision for an integrated, high quality and evidence-based approach to infant, child and adolescent (0-18 years) mental health care, research, and education across the Melbourne Children’s Campus including (The Royal Children’s Hospital, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, The University of Melbourne).

The Campus Mental Health Strategy recognises that multiple internal and external factors prevent children and their families from receiving the right mental health care, at the right time and in the right place. With wide acknowledgement of fragmented mental health systems across Victoria, the RCH has seen a 400% increase in mental health presentations in Emergency. In addition, our research also shows us that:

only 30% of carers are confident that they would recognise mental health symptoms in their child;
carers and primary care clinicians are often unsure how to access help for children;
up to 60% of children with chronic physical illness have significant mental health symptoms;
having a child with mental health or behavioural concerns stigmatises carers and siblings;
children in out of home care have a 3-fold increased risk of mental health issues; and
less than half of the 17% of children with mental health disorders are accessing any care.

Children and their parents/carers and families are at the heart of the Strategy with active participation in the design, development, evaluation, and improvement of The Strategy throughout the 5 years. The Strategy is informed by the key issues facing mental health care, research and education at The RCH and the Campus more broadly, and proposes the vision for the way forward.

Our vision

That all infants, children and adolescents and their families will be able to access high quality, equitable and consistent prevention and mental health care where and when they need it to achieve sustained, optimised developmental, health and wellbeing outcomes.

Governance

Our governance structure for the Campus Mental Health Strategy aims to build capacity within our team and ensure that we always remain focused on our goals.

The structure laid out below ensures we are continually guided by principles of transparency, responsiveness, participation, consensus, equity, inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, accountability and evaluation within our team.

Acknowledgement of Country

At Mental Health Central we acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we live, gather and work. We recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.

We acknowledge all people with a lived or living experience of mental ill-health and recovery. At the Campus, we particularly acknowledge children, young people, families, carers, and supporters. We recognise their vital contribution and value the courage of those who share this unique perspective for the purpose of learning and growing together to achieve better outcomes for the Campus, staff, sector, and all people of lived experience.

Proudly supported by the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation