Teen's 5-day wait in hospital emergency department prompts official apologies

A 17yo waited five days in Busselton Hospital for placement in a mental health unit. (ABC News: Gian De Poloni)

A teenager from WA's South West was left in a hospital emergency department for almost five days waiting for a mental health bed.

After 116 hours, the 17-year-old was transferred to a hospital 300km away.

WA's health minister and director of its country health service both apologised to the Busselton family.

The West Australian health minister and a director of the country health service have apologised to a teen who languished in an emergency room for almost five days awaiting an adolescent mental health unit bed.

Readers are advised that this article includes a mention of attempted suicide and mental health.

In March, the then-17-year-old tried to take her own life twice before she was rushed to Busselton Health Campus, 220 kilometres south of Perth.

Her mother, Tara said the teen was identified as high-risk by psychiatric nurses.

But she was still left in limbo for 116 hours, waiting for a place in a specialised mental health unit.

"She just felt like, 'What's the point of being here? We're not going to get help, so why are we still here?'", Tara told 102.5 ABC Perth.

Eventually, the teen was admitted to Joondalup Mental Health Unit in Perth's north.

The teenager was eventually transferred to Joondalup hospital. (File photo. ABC News: Keane Bourke)

In a letter sent to the family, WA Country Health Service director of medical services, Mark Holloway, offered a "sincere apology" for the delay and distress experienced by the family.

"I am truly sorry that we were unable to provide her with timely access to the specialised environment and treatment she required," he wrote.

Dr Holloway admitted the Busselton family's experience was not isolated.

"The prolonged boarding of patients in emergency departments while awaiting mental health beds has become increasingly common," he wrote.

"This situation has been significantly exacerbated in the Southwest by the reduction in acute inpatient mental health beds since August 2025 as part of the Bunbury Regional Hospital redevelopment, with capacity reduced from 23 beds to 11 during this period."

The Bunbury Regional Hospital has the South West region's only acute mental health unit.

Libby Mettam said it was extraordinary the teen had to wait five days for a mental health bed. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)

The opposition has been raising the region's diminished mental health services in parliament for months.

Opposition health spokesperson and member for Vasse Libby Mettam said the painful