Number of specialised mental health public hospital beds
The Australian Capital Territory is the only state/territory government in Australia that increased the number of public hospital beds, both in real terms and measured by 100,000 population: from 52 in 1992-93 to 127 in 2019-20 and 17.5 to 27.7 per 100,000 population in the same period.60
Number of specialised mental health public hospital beds - Australian Capital Territory
Graph: Number of mental health public hospital beds ACT. Source: AIHW data: Specialised mental health care facilities tables 2019-20. Table FAC.13.
Mental health emergency department presentations
The rate of emergency department presentations per 10,000 population in the ACT almost doubled between 2004-05 and 2020-21, from 68.2 to 125.5.
Rate of ED presentations per 10,000 population - Australian Capital Territory
Graph: ED presentations per 10,000 population ACT. Source: AIHW data Mental Health Services Provided in emergency departments data tables 2020-21
The data on mental health related presentations triage categories for the ACT shows that the number of patients who were triaged as resuscitation more than tripled since 2016-17 (data for 2015-16 for ACT is not available), from 0.5 to 1.7 per cent of all mental health presentations. Emergency triaged presentations (to be seen within 15 minutes) grew by 0.2 per cent, while those triaged as urgent (to be seen within 30 minutes) grew by 4.3 per cent.
Mental health related emergency department presentations in public hospitals by triage category 2015-16 to 2020-21 in the Australian Capital Territory - per cent
Graph: Mental health-related emergency department presentations in public hospitals, by triage category, per cent ACT. Source: AIHW Data: Mental Health Services Provided in emergency departments data tables 2015-16 to 2020–21
Emergency Department mental health treatment times – ED length of stay
In the Australian Capital Territory in 2020-21 ED median length of stay for all mental health presentations was 5 hours and 2 minutes. For presentations ending in admissions, median length of stay was 7 hours and 16 minutes. 90th percentile length of stay for mental health presentations ending in admissions was 23 hours and 58 minutes.61
Source: AIHW Data: Mental Health Services Provided in emergency departments data tables 2016-17 to 2020-21
Mental health emergency Department presentations – ambulance arrival
Over the 5-year period since 2016, the ACT recorded the biggest increase in emergency department presentations for mental health conditions where the mode of arrival was ambulance – by 10.6 per cent.
Mental health presentations ambulance arrival mode - Australian Capital Territory
Graph: Mental health ED Presentations ambulance arrival mode. Source: AIHW Data Mental Health Services Provided in emergency departments data tables 2016-17 to 2020-21
Overnight admitted mental health care
Average length of stay for admitted mental health patients in public hospitals in ACT in 2019-20 was 17.4 days, three days above the national average.
Average length of stay for mental health patients in public hospitals - Australian Capital Territory
Graph: Average length of stay for mental health patients in public hospitals. Source: AIHW 2022. Web report: Mental Health Services in Australia. Overnight admitted mental health care. Overnight admitted mental health related care tables, Table ON.1
Sources
60AIHW 2022. Specialised mental health care facilities tables 2019-20. Table FAC.13. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mental-health-services/mental-health-services-in-australia/report-content/specialised-facilities
61AIHW 2022. Mental Health Services Provided in Emergency Departments. Table ED.17: Mental health-related emergency department presentations in public hospitals, statistics for length of stay by states and territories, 2020–21