Morisset Hospital moves to restrict access

Security gates have been installed on the roads leading to Morisset Hospital to restrict overnight access to the site.

Unauthorised access will be restricted between 6.30pm and 6am and the new security arrangements will begin operating from Monday, 22 August 2011.

Hunter New England Mental Health General Manager Jude Constable said the overnight restrictions would boost security at the site, help protect the local kangaroo and wildlife population and provide a safer environment for patients and staff.

Two sets of heavy steel gates have been installed along Acacia Avenue and will be locked by security staff each evening and reopened early the following morning.

One set of gates is located at the bridge crossing Pormalong Creek and the other at the intersection with Macquarie Street on the site’s western boundary.

A card-operated boom gate has been installed on Silky Oak Drive to allow authorised after-hours access for staff and residents. A sign at the boom gates will provide contact details for after-hours visitors wanting access.

“The grounds of Morisset Hospital and the surrounding bushland are home to mobs of kangaroos and other native wildlife,” Ms Constable said.

“Most visitors act responsibly and respect the hospital, our wildlife and their natural habitat. However, every now and then we get unwanted night-time visitors.

“Periodically there have been incidents of often intoxicated people driving onto the site to chase and sometimes harm the kangaroos. There have also been occasions when people have harassed security staff and damaged the grounds.

“It is disappointing that these isolated incidents have occurred and that we have had to take this step, but restricting unauthorised access overnight should go a long way toward reducing opportunistic access and incidents.”

Morisset Hospital is a shared site. Hunter New England Health provides care and treatment for non-acute mental health patients, while the NSW Department of Family and Community Services runs a separate residential care unit for people with developmental disabilities. Part of the site is also managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Relatives of patients or residents requiring overnight access to the site should contact the relevant unit to discuss arrangements.

Contact: Abbey Wright

Phone: (02) 4921 4477