Thomas Embling Hospital is a medium-security (as of 03/02/2024) forensic mental health hospital located in
Fairfield, a
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
suburb in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
, Australia.
The facility is operated by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health, known as Forensicare, who are responsible for providing adult forensic mental health services in Victoria.
The hospital provides acute and continuing care for patients from the criminal justice system who are in need of psychiatric assessment, treatment or care (security or forensic patients) as well as patients from the Victorian public mental health system who need specialised management (compulsory patients).
Purpose-built with 116 secure beds, the hospital opened in April 2000.
The hospital is named after mental health reformer
Dr Thomas Embling, who was appointed as Yarra Bend Asylum's first Resident Medical Officer.
Patients are usually admitted from the criminal justice system, either via prison transfer or from a court order for psychiatric treatment. Patients have been known to attempt escapes of the facility.
Site
Set on 8.4 hectares,
Thomas Embling Hospital is located on the grounds of the former
Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital and adjacent to the former
HM Prison Fairlea and the former
Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum.
Incidents
On 22 February 2006, then Federal Health Minister
Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...
was hit in the face by a patient while visiting the hospital. The same patient was later charged with the much-publicised murder of
Masa Vukotic
''Masa'' or ''masa de maíz'' (; ) is a dough made from ground nixtamalized maize. It is used for making corn tortillas, ''gorditas'', ''tamales'', ''pupusas'', and many other Latin American dishes.
It is dried and powdered into a flour form c ...
in 2015.
In November 2009, a patient fatally stabbed two fellow patients, and in December 2012, a patient was found dead within the hospital.
In March 2013, a patient found not guilty due to mental impairment for attempted murder was allowed to leave the hospital on unescorted leave and did not return on the day. She returned of her own volition four days later. The same patient was again allowed unescorted day leave in February 2015 and failed to return. She was found safe and well and returned by police the following day.
In May 2014, a patient who was found not guilty due to mental impairment for murder was allowed an unsupervised leave for a day did not return on time. He was found and taken into custody peacefully the next day.
See also
*
J Ward
J Ward originally the Ararat County Gaol, was an Australian prison, of the latter a psychiatric facility to house the criminally insane, located in Ararat, Victoria, Australia.
Construction of the gaol commenced in 1859 and the facility was op ...
*
Kew Asylum
Kew Lunatic Asylum is a decommissioned heritage-listed psychiatric hospital located between Princess Street and Yarra Boulevard in Kew, Victoria, Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Operational from 1871 to 1988, Kew Asylum was one of the lar ...
*
Beechworth Asylum
Beechworth Asylum, also known in later years as the Beechworth Hospital for the Insane and Mayday Hills Mental Hospital, is a decommissioned hospital located in Beechworth, a town of Victoria, Australia
Victoria, commonly abbreviated as ...
*
List of Australian psychiatric institutions
This is a list of operational and former Australian psychiatric hospitals.
Australian Capital Territory
There are no institutions known to have existed.
New South Wales
Northern Territory
There are no asylums known to have existed.
Queensland ...
References
External links
Forensicare, Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health
{{Authority control
Hospital buildings completed in 2000
Psychiatric hospitals in Australia
Hospitals in Melbourne
Hospitals established in 2000
2000 establishments in Australia
Buildings and structures in the City of Yarra