Pressure in Emergency Departments: Mental Health Patients Left Waiting
Emergency departments in Victoria are under extraordinary strain as mental health patients face lengthy waits, with hospital admissions sometimes delayed for hours while beds become scarce. Official statistics from the Victorian Agency for Health Information show that in April–June 2025, only 4% of adult patients at Dandenong Hospital were transferred from an emergency department to a mental health bed within eight hours. This stall in flow is the lowest rate in the state and starkly contrasts with the 44% state-wide average. The troubling gap underscores a widening crisis in mental health care access and the urgent need for alternative supports beyond hospital care.
The Case for Expanded Community Support
Health advocates say the current configuration channels many people with mental health conditions into hospital EDs rather than into appropriate community-based care. The not-for-profit Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia (MIFA) has found that about 460,000 Australians lack access to vital community support for mental health conditions—a figure that is expected to grow without targeted investment. MIFA and others argue that psychosocial support services could help people manage their conditions at home or in familiar community settings, reducing hospital presentations and preventing crises from escalating.
What Psychosocial Support Looks Like
Psychosocial support involves trained workers delivering community-based assistance through a combination of in-home visits, family engagement, and practical support with housing, employment, social inclusion, and daily living skills. Crucially, these services help people stay well, live independently, and navigate life challenges while avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions. In Greater Dandenong, the absence of a robust psychosocial network is seen by critics as a key driver of ED overuse for mental health crises.
Voices from the Community
A local resident, Noelene, recounts waiting up to 12 hours at Dandenong Hospital ED years ago when her daughter, who suffers from severe anxiety, depression, complex PTSD, borderline personality disorder, and ADHD, required care. She notes that while EDs can provide urgent attention, the extended waits intensify anxiety and distress. Her daughter now benefits from NDIS supports and has seen meaningful progress, illustrating how targeted community services can reduce reliance on emergency departments over time.
Systemic Strains Beyond Individual Waits
The broader public hospital system is feeling the squeeze. A 2022–2023 AMA report, Public Hospital Report Card: Mental Health Edition, highlighted record waiting times and dwindling per-person bed capacity in mental health wards—only 27 beds per 100,000 Australians, the lowest on record. Ten percent of patients spent more than 23 hours waiting for care, painting a picture of a system stretched to its limits and in urgent need of reform.
Policy Steps and Calls to Action
Advocates are urging the state and federal governments to collaborate on a funding plan for psychosocial support services in Greater Dandenong and similar communities. They argue that if community organizations receive sustained funding, they can rapidly deploy services to keep people well, stable, and out of hospitals. MIFA’s CEO, Tony Stevenson, emphasizes the willingness and capacity of community mental health groups to deliver these services if resources are available, noting that this approach could reduce hospital days, homelessness, and poverty while improving overall well-being.
What This Means for the Road Ahead
While Monash Health, which oversees Dandenong Hospital, has not issued a public statement for this piece, the evidence points toward a need for a dual approach: reduce ED bottlenecks by expanding community-based supports, and strengthen hospital capacity to manage acuity when it arises. Integrating robust psychosocial services could shorten ED stays, prevent crises, and support people to live independently within their communities.
As World Mental Health Day approaches, advocates hope the conversation will shift toward building a connected network of care—one that keeps people out of emergency departments where possible and ensures timely, appropriate support when it is needed.
