The West Australian health minister and a director of the country health service have apologised to a teen who languished in an emergency room for almost five days awaiting an adolescent mental health unit bed.
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Readers are advised that this article includes a mention of attempted suicide and mental health.
In March, the then-17-year-old Maddi tried to take her own life twice before she was rushed to Busselton Health Campus, 220 kilometres south of Perth.
After admission, she was identified as high risk by psychiatric nurses.
But she was then left in limbo for 116 hours, waiting for a place in a specialised mental health unit.
Maddi, who has since turned 18, said it had been a trying experience.
Maddi, who has since turned 18, is speaking out to hopefully ensure improvements in WA’s youth mental health system. (ABC South West WA: Neve Brissenden)
“I basically just lay there and did nothing,” she said.
“It was just uncomfortable and lonely.”
Maddi’s mother Tara said the wait, driven by a lack of available beds in both the South West and wider WA health system, added to the challenge of seeking help.
“She just felt like, ‘What’s the point of being here? We’re not going to get help, so why are we still here?’”, Tara told 102.5 ABC Perth.
“I was trying to convince her that we need to stay and this is where we get help, but I was struggling towards the end to believe that myself.”
Eventually, the teen was admitted to Joondalup Mental Health Unit in Perth’s north.
But Maddi said isolation in a ward more than two hours away from friends and family made treatment difficult.
“There were nice people there, I made friends,” she said.
“[But] It just wasn’t a nice experience, I wanted to go home every day.
“I only got one visit in the five days I was in the ward up in Perth, and that was it.”
Maddi said her time in the ward in Perth, more than two hours away from family and friends, was challenging. (ABC South West WA: Neve Brissenden)
She said she wanted to speak out about her experience to help improve the system for others, expressing a desire to work in youth mental health in future.
“I want the experience for other people to be better,” Maddi said.
“I want to try and get into nursing, so I can … work on a psych ward, work in the emergency department with kids like me.”
Busselton mother Tara spent 116 hours in the emergency department waiting for a mental health bed for her daughter (ABC South West WA: Neve Brissenden)
Health director ‘truly sorry’
In a letter sent to the family, WA Country Health Service director of medical services, Mark Holloway, offered a “sincere apology” for the delay and distress experienced by the family.
“I am truly sorry that we were unable to provide her with timely access to the specialised environment and treatment she required,” he wrote.
Dr Holloway admitted the Busselton family’s experience was not isolated.
“The prolonged boarding of patients in emergency departments while awaiting mental health beds has become increasingly common,” he wrote.
“This situation has been significantly exacerbated in the Southwest by the reduction in acute inpatient mental health beds since August 2025 as part of the Bunbury Regional Hospital redevelopment, with capacity reduced from 23 beds to 11 during this period.”
The Bunbury Regional Hospital has the South West region’s only acute mental health unit.
Libby Mettam said it was extraordinary the teen had to wait five days for a mental health bed. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)
The opposition has been raising the region’s diminished mental health services in parliament for months.
Opposition health spokesperson and member for Vasse Libby Mettam said the painful experience of Tara and her daughter was avoidable.
“It’s completely inadequate that we don’t have those additional beds,” Ms Mettam said.
“We see the outcome of that, where a vulnerable patient is waiting five days.
“The government knew for some time that the Bunbury Regional Hospital development would mean the closure of some acute mental health beds.”
In a statement, Meredith Hammat apologised over the unacceptable delay in transfer. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
Minister concedes delay ‘unacceptable’
WA Health Minister Meredith Hammat issued an apology to the teenager and her family for “this unacceptable delay”.
It comes within 24 hours of the government opening a 40-bed expansion of a mental health facility at Fremantle Hospital.
Ms Hammat commended staff at Busselton Health Campus for their care for the distressed teenager.
“However, the prolonged stay in the emergency department due to the delayed transfer experienced on this occasion is unacceptable and will be reviewed,” she said.
“Our government and the Department of Health and Mental Health Commission are working together to strengthen mental health supports across the state, both in the community and in our hospitals.”
Bunbury Regional Hospital is currently undergoing a $471 million redevelopment. (ABC South West: Chela Williams)
Ms Hammat said the $471 million Bunbury Regional Hospital redevelopment was the largest in the state’s history.
“While these works are taking place, Bunbury Regional Hospital has expanded its Mental Health Hospital in the Home program, increased staffing in the emergency department and increased support for local community organisations and GPs,” she said.
“All Western Australians in crisis should receive the care they need when they need it, regardless of where they live.”
In response to questions in Parliament last month, Ms Hammat confirmed there were eight places available in the Mental Health Hospital in the Home program.
Ms Mettam said that was not enough to offset the loss of 12 acute psychiatric beds at Bunbury Regional Hospital.
“It’s clear from the correspondence we’ve seen from the hospital as well, that there’s enough demand for dedicated adolescent mental health beds in the region,” she said.
Tara said it was “scary” to think how many others might have fallen through the gaps of WA’s regional mental health system.
“There aren’t enough services, and it’s scary to think that we’re only one family, and how many other families are out there, and it just doesn’t seem like there are beds, and where do these people all go?” she said.