Save our children: Three grieving mums demand extra mental health beds for the new $1.95bn Women’s and Children’s Hospital

Three Adelaide mums say the mental health system failed their suicidal teenage sons and are furious extra crisis care beds aren’t being added to the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

South Australian parents of suicidal children say they have “nowhere else to go” after being turned away by the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH) and a “bleeding” mental health system that’s “gambling with lives”.

They described as “ludicrous” state government plans not to increase the current number of 12 paediatric mental health beds at the new $1.95 billion WCH in the wake of the pandemic, and lament how little has changed in mental health care for children in two decades.

Leading the call for urgent action are three Adelaide mothers who say the WCH and the state’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) had failed their suicidal teenage sons.

The women – Deborah*, Kate*, and Evie* – gave evidence at the parliamentary select committee on health services in SA last month. (*We are not using their real names to protect their children’s privacy.)

Adelaide mums Deborah (foreground, holding a photo of her son when he was a child), Kate and Evie each lost their sons and say they were failed by the state’s mental health system. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

The mothers’ evidence to the committee and subsequent interviews with the Sunday Mail, including interviews with other concerned parents, has revealed:

THERE is no plan to increase the current number of 12 beds in the WCH mental health unit, called the Mallee Ward, in the new WCH, planned for 2027. This is despite a 58 per cent increase in emergency mental health presentations at the WCH over the past four years, as reported last month by The Sunday Mail and The Advertiser’s Let’s Talk mental health campaign.

SUICIDAL children, and those suffering suicidal ideation, not admitted to the WCH in mental health crisis, have few options for urgent care with a nine-month wait for first appointment patients with private child and adolescent psychiatrists in SA.

REPEATED claims of non-admission and poor psychiatric care of suicidal children at the WCH due to lack of beds, lack of mental health staff, and a culture within the WCH that prioritises physical injury treatment over mental health.

CONCERNS that 20 full-time child and adolescent psychiatrists working across CAMHS is not enough for the state’s child and youth population.

“Mental health must be treated on par with physical health care and there needs to be support pathways for parents at discharge so we are not just shoved out the door without any idea on how to keep our children safe,” said Evie.

“The child and youth mental health system is poorly staffed and under-resourced but it’s not just about dollars – it’s also about culture, duty of care and taking young people’s mental health seriously.”

Kate said the WCH did not admit her 14-year-old autistic son for treatment – despite his repeated suicide attempts in the last 18 months. “There is nowhere else to go when it gets to crisis point,” she said.

“The number of mental health cases among youth will increase post-Covid and the new hospital will not have one extra bed – it’s just ludicrous.

“They can’t keep up with demand now. The system is absolutely bleeding and it’s gambling with lives.”

Mother Deborah lamented that little had changed since her son Matthew* attempted suicide repeatedly from age five, in 1998, to his later teenage years. “CAMHS kept telling me there was nothing wrong with him,” she said.

Deborah said Matthew lived with mental ill-health all his life and self-medicated with drugs, making poor choices that led to his death at age 24. He died (not from suicide) in 2017.

“I partially blame my son’s death on our health system because there was no help and I don’t want another parent to go through this – you never recover,” she said.

The three mothers are demanding more acute mental health beds for children and youth, that mental health assessments must be carried out in the WCH ED by a psychiatrist before discharge, and that better follow-up care post discharge was required, including a comprehensive care plan.

They said faster and ongoing access to CAMHS psychiatrists, in addition to more recruitment and training of child and adolescent mental health experts in public and private sectors was also critical to saving lives.

The existing Women's and Children's Hospital in North Adelaide. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

The Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN) says the Mallee Ward opened earlier this year after a $15 million redevelopment. It says the ward’s 12 beds were enough to provide safe quality care, and, when rarely at capacity, patients in need were admitted and transferred there within 24 hours.

A WCHN spokeswoman said: “South Australian families can rest assured safe and quality care is available to people with mental health needs and children, young people and their families are encouraged to seek help and support if they are experiencing mental health challenges.”

She said the number of beds in the Mallee Ward has been determined by statewide planning and analysis of clinical activity at the WCH, and was adequate to meet the needs of the state.

The spokeswoman said admission to the Mallee Ward followed the principles of best interest and least restrictive care, and that a comprehensive assessment was undertaken by medical and mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, to ensure decisions were made in line with best practice and evidence-informed decisions.

She said the WCHN had introduced a range of new CAMHS positions to help improve quality of care for patients in the community, including a GP liaison, social worker and mental health nursing co-ordinator.