Tamworth Banksia Mental Health Unit to include $14.6 million stand-alone children and adolescent treatment centre in state budget win

The dedicated, veteran, advocate and facilitator of the Tamworth Mental Health Carers' Group told the Leader she couldn't stop smiling when Tuesday's budget revealed a $14.6 million promise to add a stand-alone four-bed adolescent and children's treatment centre on top of the new Bansksia Mental Health Unit.

"Those young people become adults and if we can look after the young people now, maybe they will grow into strong and healthy young adults," she said.

"We've had no place for young people to go but now we can keep them here, give them some treatment and ... we can keep them here with their families.

"Four beds will never be enough I don't think, but four beds is a start."

In a broken system that left loved ones in the lurch, teenagers and kids had their world ripped from under them and were transported down the highway to the Nexus unit in Newcastle for mental health treatment.

Now, that won't be the norm.

"It's extremely important because to be able to heal - it doesn't matter what illness you have - you need family support and friends around you," Mrs Wyatt said.

Mrs Wyatt said there was a huge demand for mental health services in the bush.

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The better Banksia will be built with 33 beds for adults on the ground level as well as four beds for children and adolescents on the second storey, complete with a mental health safeguard team of 12 to 15 clinicians.

The team of specialist health staff travel to smaller towns and bring care to communities.

"With our new mental health unit, it is going to be wonderful and it's going to be friendly and caring and supportive for everyone with mental health," Mrs Wyatt said.

"I'm hoping that will bring psychiatrists from out of this area up to here and help us and that's what we need.

"It's going to be a friendlier, caring and safer place to go."

After five years of brave advocacy, a petition signed 13,000 times, pushing in parliament, tireless planning and meeting, the state government made a $56.2 million dedication to the new Banksia, which includes the additional promise of $14.6 million for the youth service.

The NSW government signed over $2 million in this year's budget to get the project moving and Mrs Wyatt hopes shovels will hit the ground before March next year.

The hard work was worth the wonderful outcome, Mrs Wyatt said, but there's more to do.

"I've had family members with mental illness and I know we have got to have those services, we have to have those services to look after our young people and our adults," she said.

"I won't stop."

Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson has backed advocates and said the funding in the budget for the state-of-the-art health facility was a "massive win" for the region.

"We were going for a separate, stand-alone child and adolescent mental health section of this particular building and that is what will be delivered," Mr Anderson said after the budget was handed down on Tuesday.

"This is going to be a facility that will be warm, it will be welcoming, and it will be able to provide the loving, caring environment that those who seek that support will be able to receive in a fit-for-purpose facility right here in Tamworth."

The state had previously committed to spend tens of millions rebuilding the Banksia Mental Health Unit outside Tamworth hospital, but earlier plans did not include designated beds or services for children.

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