Canberra Health Services are "doing everything" to support patients and staff in Canberra Hospital's adult mental health unit, after a 38-year-old patient died following an incident on Saturday night.
An 18-year-old Bonner man will face the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday, charged with murder after the incident.
Police said they responded to reports of an alleged assault at the mental health unit at about 12.10am on Sunday, and that the altercation resulted in the death of a 38-year-old male patient.
The 18-year-old patient was arrested in relation to this matter and taken to the ACT Watch House.
No other staff or patients harmed: Police
ACT police detective superintendent Hall O'Meagher said that upon arrival, police found staff attempting to "revive and keep alive" the 38-year-old man.
The 18-year-old man was in a secure section of the mental health unit, he said.
No other staff or patients were harmed, he said, and security staff at the hospital had gotten the situation under control by the time police arrived.
A Canberra Health Services spokesperson said the unit "was fully staffed overnight and well below patient capacity".
"Unfortunately, the efforts to keep the 38-year-old man alive were unsuccessful and he died at the scene."
"There will be a post-mortem examination in the coming days, and we're hoping that that will help us to confirm what the cause and manner of death were."
The matter will be concurrently reported to the ACT Coroner.
Detective superintendent O'Meagher said it was very early in the investigation and that police were still trying to determine exactly what occurred, but they don't believe a weapon was involved.
"We don't believe that there was a weapon involved, but the post-mortem hopefully will be able to confirm what injuries caused the man's death," he said.
"The two people weren't known to each other on a long-term basis, but they had known each other within the mental health unit over the past few days," he said.
'Very distressing': ACT mental health minister
ACT Minister for Mental Health Emma Davidson said Canberra Health Services were doing everything to ensure patients and staff in the unit were supported.
"This is a very distressing situation for families of those involved and for staff and other patients at the Adult Mental Health Unit," she said.
"My thoughts are with the family of the deceased."
"These sorts of incidents are also felt deeply by the health services staff who are extremely dedicated to caring for their patients, and I know many will be struggling with this news today. "
"As this is a matter for the police, I will make no further comment at this time."
Canberra Health Services chief executive Dave Peffer informed staff of the incident in an email on Sunday.
"Our sincere condolences go out to the family of the deceased," Mr Peffer wrote.
"I want to assure you that no other people were involved or injured in the incident."
Investigations into the circumstances of the incident continue.
