The new centre will be staffed by a range of health professionals, including maternal child health nurses, registered nurses, midwives, mental health and allied health clinicians, and pediatricians.
Bendigo Health is excited to be part of a new Early Parenting Centre planned for the region, which will provide new parents access to specialist support when they need it most.
Bendigo Health, in partnership with Tweddle Child and Family Health Service, will operate the Victorian-Government funded Early Parenting Centre in Bendigo, providing sleep, settling and feeding advice for new parents.
Bendigo Health Board Chair, Bob Cameron said the new regional centre – one of seven to be rolled out across the state – will be a fantastic addition to existing services in the region.
“We know that sleep, settling and feeding can be difficult for some parents and their children. Providing help at an early stage will improve the development, health and wellbeing of these children,” he said.
The centre, which will include 10 residential units and four day-stay units, will provide a mixture of shorter and longer stays for children up for four years old.
Bendigo Health Executive Director of Clinical Operations, Robyn Lindsay said it is expected that 70 per cent of children who access the service will be under 12 months old.
“When your children are very young it’s very stressful and if you’ve got that added complexity of problems with sleep and settling it’s really confronting to think about accessing services sometimes hundreds of kilometers away from where you live,” she said.
“Having a locally based service that is relevant for them will significantly increase uptake in access to this type of service.”
Mrs Lindsay said the new centre will be staffed by a range of health professionals, including maternal child health nurses, registered nurses, midwives, mental health and allied health clinicians, and pediatricians.
The centre will provide a range of parenting advice and support and will have access to telehealth consultations.
“When mothers compare notes about sleepless night we’ve all got stories to tell and certainly this service is open to offer advice that’s not exclusively in a residential setting, they’ll be web-based advice and telehealth advice,” Mrs Lindsay said.