Health New Zealand has marked the opening of E Tū Wairua Hinengaro, a new purpose-built facility at Auckland’s Mason Clinic designed to strengthen and modernise forensic mental healthcare in Aotearoa.

The 60-bed multi-storey building marks the end of a 15-year programme to relocate the last patients from ageing units on the Mason Clinic campus that were affected with ongoing weather-tightness and air quality issues.

Its opening is the cornerstone of the renaissance of the Mason Clinic campus, which has seen significant ongoing investment to support the delivery of high-quality clinical care.

Patient /tāngata whai i te ora input has been incorporated into the design and the facility allows modern models of care not possible in the previous units.

As E Tū Wairua Hinengaro is significantly larger than the units it replaces with 10,000 square metres of floor space, an additional 57 full-time equivalent staff positions have been fully approved and funded and are being actively recruited to.

There has been a good response from candidates, shortlisting has been completed and interviews are underway.

It is expected the first patients will move into the unit in late February with a planned, progressive transition of remaining patients over a period of several months.

Phil Grady - National Director, Mental Health & Addictions Service Enhancement - said it was pleasing to see patients being moved into a new state-of-the-art forensic facility that allows contemporary models of care, resulting in better outcomes for them and a better working environment for the dedicated forensic psychiatry teams based at Mason Clinic.

“This facility represents the latest chapter in a long and important story, the evolution of the Mason Clinic and of forensic mental healthcare in New Zealand.”

“The true value of E Tū Wairua Hinengaro is that it enables improved models of care and gives staff new options to safely manage patients needs – options that were simply not possible in the old units.”

The facility features secure courtyards and enhanced ventilation, creating a safe, recovery-focused environment that supports dignity and wellbeing.

Mason Clinic is New Zealand’s largest forensic mental health service, serving nearly two million people across the Northern Region.

It provides care to meet the needs of people with serious mental health problems and/or intellectual disabilities within the context of criminal offending.

Its history stretches back to 1867 with the establishment of Carrington Hospital and, since the Mason Report in 1988, the Clinic has grown to become the country’s largest forensic psychiatric service.