"Ward naming feels culturally… yuck."

About: NMHS Mental Health NMHS Mental Health Wembley 6014

Posted by KooriInWA (as the patient), last month

I’ve been a TMS outpatient at the SCGH Day Procedure Unit (Isdell) during the last month, and for what I feel to be an already culturally unwelcoming Unit, the name felt openly threatening. It’s a relatively new Unit, so it’s not like it’s a it was named before the rest of Australia worked out that.
Although the inpatient wards in this block appear to be named In Language from around the Top End, the name of this Unit is that of a 1907 “Protector of Aboriginies”. It’s hard enough to receive secular white fella care with no Mob input & no spiritual input, but this feels like adding fear to shame. That is, it’s hard to feel the name as anything other than a threat when it’s that of a guy who said if people like me, “I consider it a great scandal to allow any of these half-caste girls to remain with the natives.”
The academic Tony Barra says of James Isdell, “He saw himself as serving both morality and the larger cause of civilisation. ‘I would not hesitate to separate any half-caste from its Aboriginal mother, no matter how frantic momentary grief might be at the time. They soon forget their offspring.’” (DOI 10.1080/14623520802065438)
Honestly, even if it’s named for something named for this guy, the feeling of threat is still present.

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Responses

Theresa Marshall

Executive Director, Mental Health, Public Health and Dental Services,

North Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 30/04/2026 at 5:12 PM

Published on Care Opinion Australia on 1/05/2026 at 10:38 AM

Dear KoorilnWA
I am sorry to hear that the name of the unit has caused distress and been experienced as unwelcoming for you. I acknowledge and thank you for expressing your concerns and sharing the impact that this has had on you.
The names used across the Mental Health Services area at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, including this unit, reference significant geographical locations in Western Australia such as rivers and deserts. They were chosen as part of a broader naming approach for the area and were certainly not intended to cause offence or relate to historical actions or views that may be hurtful to anyone, least of all our patients.
I recognise that names can carry different meanings for different people and groups and I am sorry that this is the case for you and others who may feel the same. As a service, we are committed to providing respectful and culturally responsive services and acknowledge that this has upset you. Thank you again for providing feedback that helps us reflect on and improve the care environment for our consumers.
Kind regards,
Dr Theresa Marshall

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Update posted by KooriInWA (the patient) last month

Thanks for your response, Dr Theresa, and the time you’ve taken with it. I appreciate your openness and frankness about the naming process, and I’d love to know what SCGH/NMHS going to do to make the name less threatening. Perhaps the original name of that river could be used?
It’s great that geographically significant places were chosen.
However, had mountains and escarpments been chosen instead of rivers and deserts, I can’t imagine anyone who was part of a broader naming approach for the area selecting a mountain range whose original name — Wunaamin Miliwundi — has been officially restored to it on State Gov’t maps within the time the Mental Health block (Block UU at SCGH) has been open. That is: I believe no one would have thought of naming a place of healing “Leopold” after the Ranges because they would have understood the incredible insensitivity towards communities whose genoc*de he participated in.
If you’d like to meet to discuss how we can work together to advocate for more appropriate naming within NMMHS or at SCGH, please let me know and I’ll email you.
Pax et bonum,
— KooriInWA

Update posted by KooriInWA (the patient) 4 weeks ago

Dr Theresa,
Although I continue to be thankful for the openness of your initial reply I’m disappointed but, sadly, unsurprised by the lack of specific ways the problem might be addressed — goodness knows that renaming (although the preferable) is not the only option — or at least of communication of how such things are raised and remedied within NMMHS.
I continue to be open to engage.
Sincerely: pax et bonum tecum.

Theresa Marshall

Executive Director, Mental Health, Public Health and Dental Services,

North Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 18/05/2026 at 12:12 PM

Published on Care Opinion Australia at 1:51 PM

Dear KoorilnWA
Thank you again for outlining your perspective so clearly. I appreciate the feedback and acknowledge the impact and responsibility you have described in relation to the naming of public places, particularly when they are attached to sensitive issues such as mental health treatment.
While I understand that concerns about names are important, these are determined through established processes involving extensive consultation with stakeholders. Your feedback will certainly be considered in any future renaming discussions.
Kind regards,

Dr Theresa Marshall

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