Mental health advocates say the Queensland government needs to do better after an investigation found a mental health ward at a major Brisbane hospital was 'unfit for purpose'. It follows the deaths of three people by suicide in the space of 16 months. Queensland's mental health commissioner says some facilities need to be rebuilt, but advocates say adequate care goes beyond bricks and mortar.
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00:00Beset with staffing shortages, struggling with increased demand and equipped with ageing
00:08facilities.
00:09That's how a report described the mental health unit at this major Northside Brisbane
00:14hospital.
00:15I don't think it's good enough.
00:16The external review was triggered by the suicides of three patients inside the ward at the Prince
00:21Charles Hospital.
00:23The ABC understands 19 adults have died by suicide while in Queensland mental health
00:28units since 2018.
00:31Every single suicide is a terrible tragedy.
00:34It found that decades old wards were no longer fit for purpose and not conducive to mental
00:39health recovery.
00:41It went on to say it even posed a number of potential safety risks for staff and patients.
00:46It's shocking but not surprising.
00:48These have been built some 20 or something years ago, we need to refurbish those and
00:53rebuild some of them definitely.
00:54The Metro North Hospital and Health Service says people shouldn't be scared to attend
00:59the Prince Charles Hospital if they need access to mental health care.
01:03It said the majority of the panel's 22 recommendations are already being implemented.
01:09Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said nearly $10 million has been allocated to the Metro
01:14North Health Service following the review.
01:16She said Queensland has seen significantly fewer inpatient suicides than New South Wales
01:22and Victoria, but ideally it would be zero.
01:25All hospital and health services are participating in the Zero Suicide in Healthcare initiative
01:30aimed at improving suicide care across the state.
01:33But Queensland's Mental Health Commissioner and advocates agree mental health care extends
01:38beyond hospital repairs and rebuilds.
01:42Just rebuilding the same old clinical model over and over again isn't going to cut it.
01:45It's not about just building more crisis beds, it's about intervening early.
01:50Psychiatrists say Queensland needs about 2,000 additional mental health staff to care
01:55for people in the community, to help keep them well and out of hospitals.