• The Lavender Mother and Baby Mental Health Unit is a statewide four-bed acute inpatient unit that admits Queensland women with a significant mental health problem that cannot be safely managed by community mental health services, and their babies who are not walking and are under 12 months old. The Unit admits both voluntary consumers and those under the Mental Health Act 2016.
• The Lavender Mother and Baby unit is led by a consultant psychiatrist who is supported by a multidisciplinary team of mental health nurses, occupational therapist, social worker, clinical psychologist, dietitian, physiotherapist, psychiatric registrars and infant mental health liaison. 
• The baby will require a pre-admission health screen to ensure that the baby is well. This to be completed by the baby’s General Practitioner, or the local HSS Child Health Nurse or Paediatrician. There is no capacity to admit ill infants
• Referrals are prioritised according to the following criteria
  • Acuity
  • Babies under 6 weeks will be prioritised
  • Breastfeeding status
  • Availability of alternate outpatient management
• Additionally, the service is supported by Gold Coast Health’s Community Child Health Service and Paediatrics regarding the baby’s health, wellbeing and development.
• Women and their families need ongoing support if there is a wait time prior to admission. The following services have been identified as providing support and referral to community services (please note the list is not exclusive):
  • Acute Care Treatment Team, contactable in your local area on 1300 642 225
  • Emergency Department of your local hospital 
  • General practitioner can advise and refer under Mental Health Care Plan or Perinatal ATAPS to psychological services.

Clinician Resources

• Lavender Unit Health Professional Brochure  

Alternative Support services:

• 1300 MH CALL (Mental Health Access Line) t: 1300 642 255
• Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Association (PANDA) t: 1300 726 306 w: www.panda.org.au  
• Beyond Blue t: 1300 224 636 w: www.beyondblue.org.au  
• Women’s Health Queensland t: 1800 017 676 w: www.womhealth.org.au  
• Centre of Perinatal Excellence t: (03) 9376 6321 w: www.cope.org.au

Patient Resources

• Lavender Unit Patient Brochure  

• Mother and Baby’s demographic details
• Past medical history including birth and post-partum conditions
• Relevant mental health history including:
  • Rationale for inpatient admission including onset, duration, triggers and current mental state
  • Mental Health Act status eg. voluntary or involuntary
  • Presence of any mental health risk factors eg. Harm to self 
  • Details of any other mental health teams currently involved in care
• Social history including:
  • Living circumstances including risk of homelessness
  • Is the mother a current inpatient at any facility?
  • Is the mother the primary care giver for the baby?
  • Was consent received for referral provided?
  • Concerns regarding parent- child relationship
  • Child safety involvement
• Baby’s history including:
  • Immunisation status
  • Feeding status
  • Any concerns relating to physical or mental health of the baby
• History of or current nicotine and alcohol use including history of completion of detox or withdrawal treatment
• Medical clearance for mother and infant from any previously diagnosed infectious disease (if applicable)

All of the information requested above can be completed on the GCH Lavender Mother and Baby Mental Health Unit Referral Form. 

If a specific test result is unable to be obtained due to access, financial, religious, cultural or consent reasons a Clinical Override may be requested. This reason must be clearly articulated in the body of the referral.

Women who fall within the following categories:

• active substance abuse issues or at risk of withdrawal
• requesting admission for the sole purpose of assessing parenting capacity
• residing outside of Queensland
• where mental health concerns can be suitably managed by community services
• not primary caregivers for their baby
• homeless or at risk of homelessness