Gold Coast Health is recognised for quality patient care, nursing and midwifery excellence and innovations in professional nursing and midwifery practice under the Magnet® Recognition Program.
"Walking together in kindness" artwork produced for Gold Coast Health by Riki Salam, We are 27 Creative.
Gold Coast Health’s Acute Care Community Team is now welcoming consumers to a refurbished space on Level 5 at Southport Health Precinct, following the team’s relocation from Level 7.
The refurbished space includes additional interview rooms, dedicated telehealth rooms and refreshed waiting and staff areas to support community mental health care.
The Acute Care Community Team provides short-term assessment and follow-up for people experiencing acute mental health concerns, including after an emergency department presentation, and helps connect consumers with ongoing support.
Gold Coast Health Acute Care Community Team Leader Anna Newton said the refurbished space supported both consumers and the team caring for them.
“For our community, it’s really lovely to have a space that’s been designed with consumers at the forefront,” Anna said.
“The interview rooms have enough space for a consumer and their family members, the doctor and an extra clinician if we need.
“The team always puts the consumer first. It’s really nice to be in a welcoming space, with more resources available to us to make that easier.”
Dedicated telehealth rooms offer a private setting for remote appointments.
Gold Coast Health Senior Mental Health Clinician Krisna Phillips said the waiting area and shared staff space had stood out as the team settled in.
“To me, the waiting area feels calm and welcoming. I think it will help our community feel more at home, less like a clinic,” Krisna said.
“We feel more like a team. It’s an open space and we can see everyone.
“We have more interview rooms, which means we have a greater capacity to see consumers face to face.”
The refreshed environment features a mural and artwork by Gold Coast Health Registered Nurse and artist Vernon Armstrong, alongside five works by Rachel Jack.
Artworks and photographs by other staff members, previously featured or recognised through Gold Coast Health’s staff art and photography competitions, are also displayed.
Vernon’s artistic practice draws on traditional songlines and the connections between land, people and culture, bringing his perspectives as both a nurse and an artist to his work.
Gold Coast Health Senior First Nations Health Worker Rachel Jack, a proud Wiradjuri woman with strong cultural connections to Kombumerri Country, said the five selected artworks reflect the relationships between people and the natural world.
“Each artwork reflects a different aspect of the natural environment and the deep relationship between people, land, water, animals and the changing seasons,” Rachel said.
Artwork, natural light and comfortable furnishings feature in the waiting area, where consumers and families are welcomed by reception staff.
Consumers can be referred to the Acute Care Community Team following an emergency department presentation or through Gold Coast Health’s mental health intake service. Individuals, family members, GPs and other services can contact the intake service to request support.
The team works with each consumer to arrange follow-ups suited to their needs, which may include a home visit, an appointment at Southport Health Precinct or telehealth.
