Mental Health Inpatient Unit
The Mental Health Inpatient Unit located at Royal North Shore Hospital is for people aged 18 and over who are experiencing an acute episode of mental illness requiring inpatient support.
People access this service via presentation at the Emergency Department or from the Local Community Mental Health Service, which is located at Royal North Shore Community Health Centre level 1, 2C Herbert Street. This centre in the grounds of Royal North Shore Hospital.
Urgent care: If life is at risk please call Triple Zero (000) or go to the emergency department of your local hospital to receive immediate help.
For people seeking urgent mental health care there are several options:
Ring the Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511. This line is staffed by experienced clinicians 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is a telephone-based triage service. Calls are answered 24 hours, 7 days a week, by a mental health clinician who can offer support and connect you with the appropriate local, public mental health service in NSW, including the Northern Sydney Local Health District.
The service may then offer you an appointment at the community health centre, or a clinician may come to your home to complete an assessment and plan treatment with you.
Attend the Emergency Department at Royal North Shore Hospital, where there is 24 hour access to specialist mental health care and support.
Drug and Alcohol Inpatient Unit
The Drug and Alcohol inpatient unit provides inpatient care fin two activity streams:
The Detoxification Unit at the Herbert Street Clinic is an 11 bed, 7 day / 24 hour, inpatient unit at Royal North Shore Hospital. The unit provides medically supervised withdrawal management from alcohol and drugs along with an educational/therapeutic program which includes groups and case management. Provision of comprehensive medical and psychiatric assessment as well as aftercare planning is also a core component of the program.
The IDAT Program, also at the Herbert Street Clinic is a 4 bed inpatient unit and provides short term care, with an involuntary supervised withdrawal component, to protect the health and safety of people with severe substance dependence who have experienced, or are at risk of, serious harm and whose decision making capacity is considered to be compromised due to their substance use. This unit has a state-wide intake.
Visitor Information
Visitors are welcome in our mental health units. Friends and family are important in supporting recovery. It is always a good idea to phone the unit in advance of your visit to ensure it will be a good time for you to come as there are some times when the units are not open to visitors, such as during treatment times. To speak to staff in the Mental Health Unit, you can call the general phone number of the hospital and ask to be put through to the mental health unit.
Certain things aren't allowed in the unit, in order to help keep everyone safe. These things are referred to as contraband, and include things like cigarette lighters and weapons. You should check with the unit to find out about contraband. Visitor's belongings may be searched prior to entry to the unit. You won't be able to take things like handbags, backpacks or mobile phones into the unit; we will provide a secure space where you can store these.Children are welcome to visit friends and relatives in the mental health unit. All units have a procedure and specific space allocated to support visits from children. It is very important to phone the mental health unit before bringing a child to visit someone in the unit, to ensure things are in place to support a positive and stress free visit.
All wards in NSW Health facilities are smoke free. Smokers will be supported in their drug withdrawal with appropriate clinical care and the provision of free Nicotine Replacement Therapy during their stay.
Visit our
Mental health page for more details on our services.
Address
Level 2, Clinical Services Building, Lanceley Avenue, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, NSW 2065
Telephone: (02) 9926 7111
Finding Us:
The Mental Health Unit is located on the grounds of Royal North Shore Hospital, and is most easily accessed from Lanceley Avenue, which is off Herbert Street.
Postal address:
Mental Health Inpatient Unit
Level 2, Lanceley Avenue
Royal North Shore Hospital
St Leonards NSW 2065
