A Booragul man who was turned away from the Mater's psychiatric emergency centre, despite being in deep distress and having suicidal thoughts, feels the public health system failed him.
An ambulance took Mitchell Patterson, 33, to the Mater centre at Waratah after a friend called the emergency service to check on his welfare.
Mr Patterson said he told a clinical staff member that he had not taken his antidepressant medication for several days, as his script had run out.
He said his psychologist was on leave and he was unable to afford to see a GP to get a new script.
He also said he told the staff memebr he was going through a relationship break-up, lived on his own and was "having intrusive thoughts about suicide".
Additionally, he said that he shared his 10-year history of depression and that he had attempted suicide on three previous occasions.
Mr Patterson said he was going through an "acute episode of depression/anxiety" and "a full blown panic attack".
He felt staff gave him the impression that the Mater was too busy to see him.
"I had no idea how busy they were, until they told me four people were waiting and they would take two hours each," he said.
He said he arrived at the Mater in the ambulance at 12.45am on Wednesday last week.
After a discussion of his situation, he said a clinical staff member walked him out the front of the Mater and "left me to wait on my own at about 1.15am".
Before he was taken to the Mater, Mr Patterson said two ambulance officers and two police officers attended his house to check on his welfare.
"I distinctly remember I was laying on the ground and one of the ambos said to the police, 'would you guys agree that we can't leave him here?'
"Their duty of care prevented them from leaving me alone."
Mr Patterson felt he should share his story to raise awareness of the issue.
"The more I talk about it, the more comfortable other people can be doing the same thing," he said.
"I'm really angry. I wouldn't want this to happen to someone else.
"This is such a gross failing of the mental health system and I believe this situation needs more attention brought to it."
A Hunter New England Health spokesperson said "the care of our mental health consumers is a priority".
"Anyone presenting to one of our hospitals with a mental health concern is assessed by highly skilled clinical staff," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said such patients were "provided individualised treatment and care planning as needed".
"Contemporary, best practice mental health care involves management at home when appropriate, with the support of family, general practitioners, as well as other community-based organisations.
"We understand that some community-based services may not be available after hours."
Mr Patterson said he was lucky because when he got home, a friend was there to support him.
As for running out of medication, he said he couldn't afford to see a GP.
"I'm in a situation where my partner has just left and I've assumed the cost of the whole household," he said.
Finding a bulk-billing GP to renew his antidepressant script was near impossible, he said. He faced a $120 cost to see a doctor to get a script for two months' supply of medication.
Headspace founding director Patrick McGorry said the mental health system was "desperately in need of reform and investment".
"The system is shrinking at a time when it needs to be growing dramatically to absorb excess demand," said Mr McGorry, now executive director of Orygen.
"We've seen a collapse in bulk billing, so access to primary care and specialists has decreased because of the gap fees that people can't afford.
"The whole health system is not functioning very well and the demand for mental health services is way more than the supply."
Mr McGorry said this was "causing a lot of suffering and preventable disability and costing lives".
A health sector source said "the Mater should be the gold standard" for mental health treatment.
The source said Mr Patterson should have been given a "safety plan" to help de-escalate his distress.
Mr Patterson said he received "no safety plan".
"I left with the ambulance bill [more than $430], an A4 piece of paper with some GPs printed on it and a business card for some helpline phone number," he said.
Mr Patterson said he had thought the Mater was "the place to go when every other option has failed".
"It is supposed to be the last line of defence," he said.
The Hunter health spokesperson urged "anyone experiencing an acute mental health concern to be assessed through their nearest emergency department or receive support through the [NSW Health] Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511".
"Other services such as Lifeline, GP Access After Hours or Safe Haven are also available for those experiencing situational crises or mental distress that doesn't require hospital level assessment or care.
"Admission to a mental health unit is only used as a last resort when necessary."
Suicide Prevention Australia chief executive Nieves Murray said demand for crisis services and emergency department presentations for suicidal thoughts, self-harm and suicide attempts "remain high".
"Australians need alternatives to emergency departments," Ms Murray said.
She said this could be a "24/7 safe space with medical and mental health support staff, or a crisis support team that comes to the person's home".
"We need a new approach," she said.
"We are calling on all state and territory governments to allocate funding to design and trial a number of alternatives to emergency departments."
She said these should be "co-designed with people who have a lived or living experience of suicide".
"Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy."
Lifeline 13 11 14.
