Three people have died by suicide inside a locked mental health unit at a major Brisbane public hospital over the past 16 months.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 These are pretty startling revelations at the mental health clinic here at the Prince
00:06 Charles Hospital.
00:07 Health authorities have now confirmed that three patients have taken their own lives
00:12 while staying at the 60-bed clinic over the past 16 months.
00:17 In that same time period, two other people have also severely harmed themselves.
00:21 Now, look, the acting chief executive of the Metro North Health Service, Professor Jane
00:26 Hancock, she's described these deaths as tragic and she says while there has been an investigation
00:31 by the hospital into each of these incidents, a broader, more independent review will now
00:36 be established into these incidents.
00:39 She does say, though, that there has been an increasing number of patients being admitted
00:42 to the hospital with complex mental health needs.
00:45 Now, mental health organisations have come out and criticised these figures.
00:49 They say that when family members send their loved ones to hospital, they expect that they're
00:53 going to be safe.
00:55 There is also more broader criticism currently of three public hospitals in Brisbane and
01:00 speculation about whether or not mental health clinics are really fit for standard and purpose
01:05 and whether or not there's enough staff to cope with the increasing number of patients
01:09 with complex mental health needs.
01:11 But, look, this is terribly sad news for all the patients and their health workers involved
01:16 in this incident.
01:16 [BLANK_AUDIO]