4 days ago
Emergency
Doctors and frontline health workers have told Four Corners they can't stay silent any longer, warning they are witnessing the collapse of public mental health care in NSW.
Staff have revealed they're being forced to release people who are still seriously unwell, simply because there aren't enough beds.
CCTV and internal figures show patients in crisis and waiting almost four days for care in one of the country's busiest emergency departments. The delays are fuelling violence and unsafe discharges.
The situation has prompted scores of psychiatrists to leave the public system in NSW, many accusing the government of not taking mental health seriously or providing the funding the system needs to survive.
This week, Four Corners goes inside the system to investigate the extent of the crisis and the impact on those who need its care the most.
Emergency, reported by Avani Dias and produced by Amy Donaldson, goes to air on Monday 2 June at 8.30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
