PEOPLE living with multiple sclerosis will no longer have to move as far away as Australind to get the support they need once a new $8 million purpose-built facility opens in Butler.
The MSWA facility on Butler Boulevard will offer people with the neurological condition independent living space and access to support services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
There will be 10 self-contained units with shared communal living areas designed for people with disabilities as well as an onsite medical centre offering physiotherapy, counselling, nursing, and outreach and peer group sessions.
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READ NOWThe MSWA Butler Supported Accommodation and Services Facility will be the first of its kind in the northern suburbs built with living quarters and support services on the one site.
Construction is underway.
Demand for the centre has meant there is a waiting list for MSWA members living as far away as Australind, whose closest support services were in Bunbury.
Kate Gild, who was diagnosed with MS in 2006, is on the waiting list to move into the Butler centre after having to live at the Treendale facility for three years away from her family in Subiaco.
Ms Gild, who uses a wheelchair, said she was “dreadfully excited” that the centre was being built because one of the hardest things she faced once diagnosed was having to move away from family.
“It’s going to be wonderful because at the moment I have to get a taxi to access services like physiotherapy and although the services in Bunbury are sensational, it will be great to have them so close to home,” she said.
“I’m excited to be able to see my family.
“I am lucky enough at the moment to be able to come up to the Margaret Doody House respite centre in City Beach about four to six weeks but living up here will mean it will be easier for me and my family.”
The 45-year-old, who once lived in London and worked for the BBC, said the communal areas were one of the best features of the centre because living with the condition was “quite isolating” at times.
MSWA chief executive officer Marcus Stafford said the development was part of the organisation’s long-term, strategic growth plan and |anticipated need for services within the northern suburbs.
“We’ve found that the number of people using our high-support accommodation facilities has grown and I predict that we’ll see the same thing happen in Butler,” he said.
“To manage the ongoing demand over the coming years we have a major building program planned, both in the metropolitan area and regional Western Australia.”
The facility is expected to open in February 2019.
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