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Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, Australia has opened a AUD12 million ($12.3 million) new mental health unit, which is designed to provide upgraded medical support to the older people.

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The new mental health unit is a 20-bed facility, which is designed to help older people, whose mental health has become complicated by physical health problems and social circumstances.

Offering specialist care to older people, the mental health unit features all single-room accommodation as well as therapy and activity areas and outdoor gardens.

The new unit has been designed to provide maximum natural light with walls that can be opened to the courtyard areas. It also allows outside air into the building and enables patients to move freely between the indoor and outdoor spaces.

The mental health unit completes the hospital's AUD162 million ($167 million) stage 2B redevelopment, which included a new rehabilitation and allied health building.