Lack of mental health beds at RDH ‘symptom’ of chronic underfunding AMA says

Overcapacity issues at Royal Darwin Hospital’s inpatient mental health unit is a symptom of years of chronic underfunding by successive NT governments, the head of NT’s peak medical body has said.

• Lack of mental health beds at RDH causing ‘extreme pressure’ and creating danger for staff
• ‘I’ll blow all you bastards up’: Mentally ill patient repeatedly vowed to blow up RDH

OVERCAPACITY issues at Royal Darwin Hospital’s inpatient mental health unit is a symptom of years of chronic underfunding by successive NT governments, the head of NT’s peak medical body has said.

Australian Medical Association NT president Robert Parker, in response to a revelation that mental health patients, some of whom are “highly volatile”, are overflowing into other parts of RDH, said mental health services in the Northern Territory had not been up to national standard due to a lack of funding on both sides of politics for years.

But Dr Parker, a psychiatrist by specialty, said pushing bureaucrats to work faster to get a multimillion-dollar federally funded new adult mental unit could “create more problems than it solves”.

“I think whatever you have to do has to be done carefully,” he said.

It comes as the Top End Health Service (TEHS) confirmed the new facility, which will be funded as part of a $50m federal government agreement with the NT signed in June, was still in the business case development phase.

The NT News yesterday revealed, via a leaked email, that a lack of beds at Royal Darwin Hospital’s psychiatric inpatient unit this week pushed 14 mental health patients to be cared for in the emergency department and other parts of the hospital.

The Royal Darwin Hospital main entrance. Picture Che Chorley

RELATED NEWS

Mental health patients forced into surgical wards at RDH

Leaked emails reveal depth of mental health crisis at Royal Darwin Hospital

NT to get first purpose-built mental health facility with $50m funding under new National Health Reform Agreement

A spokesman for Top End Health said the current issue was due to “increased demand” for mental health inpatient care and “additional resources” were being used to provide care and treatment to those waiting for admission to the mental health unit.

The leaked email noted the situation was “not sustainable” and was putting nursing staff under “extreme pressure”, with seven security guards and five PCAs (Personal Care Assistants) required to keep the RDH staff and patients safe.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles addresses the media at Royal Darwin Hospital on frontline resourcing. Picture: Glenn Campbell

LIMITED TIME: New NT News subscription offer: $1 a week for the first 12 weeks

The Top End Health spokesman said security guards and PCAs would continue to be deployed “as appropriate” to maintain the safety of patients and healthcare workers.

“TEHS Mental Health and RDH have worked closely and collaboratively to establish systems and processes to strengthen the management of mental health outliers who are located at RDH while waiting for admission to a mental health inpatient bed,” he said.

But the business case for the new facility is still being developed, according to the Top End Health spokesman.

“TEHS Mental Health is actively involved in the planning of this facility and is participating in the development of a business case,” he said.

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said the government needed to “act swiftly” to implement changes to support those battling mental health issues.

Follow @MaduraMcCormack