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South Australia is “the worst jurisdiction in the world” when it comes to leaving people experiencing mental health crises in emergency departments for more than 24 hours, a former Adelaide mental health chief turned whistle-blower has told a parliamentary committee.
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UPDATED: A key SA Health whistleblower who quit in protest at a lack of action has had his recent hopes of mental health reform dashed, following a day-long forum on the issue – from which the paramedics’ union was shut out.
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Up to 10 patients a day who may have “committed violent crimes” are being turned away from the state’s specialist forensic psychiatric facility due to a lack of beds – and are being kept under guard in emergency departments and hospital wards.
The former head of Adelaide’s mental health services who resigned in protest at a lack of government action has issued a 10-point plan outlining immediate reforms for the sector – including opening more specialist beds and mobilising an additional workforce with rapid training.
State mental health leader John Mendoza – who walked out of his office yesterday rather than obey an SA Health order to shut up after an incendiary InDaily interview – has continued to expose a litany of failures and budget cuts in the state’s mental health system.
Psychiatric and emergency doctors have backed the resignation parting spray of former Central Adelaide Local Health Network mental health director John Mendoza, saying he was voicing concerns “many people thought privately”.
