After visiting what remains of the fire damaged Peacock Centre this morning, I can confirm that mental health outpatient services previously provided at the facility will now be delivered at the Clive Hamilton Building at New Town.
This interim arrangement has been put in place to ensure the best possible continuity in service for our patients.
Without doubt, the loss of the Peacock Centre is a blow for our clients who utilised the services, as well as our dedicated and hard-working staff.
It is an absolute credit to all staff that they were able to quickly evacuate the building and ensure injuries were minimal.
It is also heartening that the staff are so determined to continue delivering these vital mental health services to the community from a different venue, under exceptional circumstances.
About 500 patients will receive written notification of the change of venue for services in the coming days and discussions are taking place to finalise more permanent arrangements. All patients will be personally notified regarding any further changes.
It is still too early to know what will happen with the heritage-listed Peacock Centre.
Work is continuing to secure the building and once that has occurred, structural engineers will be able to provide advice as to what the next course of action will be.
