Mental Health Services for Older People

Mental Health Services for Older People at Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) was established in the early 1990’s and provides a comprehensive Mental Health specialist service to the older people of the central Auckland region.

Mental Health Services for Older People (MHSOP) is comprised of two services:
The Community (CARE) team is our community-oriented service. We provide home visits for assessment and follow-up, specialised assessment, short-term treatment and care management, outpatient clinics and continuing care for clients with complex mental health needs.
Where necessary the Community team will arrange admission to our in-patient unit based at Auckland City Hospital or will refer on to appropriate services as required.

Fraser McDonald Unit (FMU) is our in-patient admission service. FMU provides a 15-bed 24-hour service for older people that require a short hospital stay. Originally based on the 10th floor of Auckland Hospital FMU is now a newly refurbished building and is purpose built for the needs of our older population. We provide acute assessment, treatment and care management with a view to returning people back to community based care as soon as possible.

Our purpose is to optimise the function and wellness of older people with serious mental health problems, or major changes in behaviour and to enable individuals to continue to live as independently and meaningfully as possible in the environment of their and their family’s choosing.