The Minns Labor Government is relieving pressure on the busy Westmead Emergency Department by creating a dedicated unit for patients experiencing heightened distress or aggression.
It's another step from the Minns Labor Government to improve mental healthcare in New South Wales, create safer environments for staff, and reduce wait times at emergency departments.
The Coalition's failure to build critical health infrastructure like Rouse Hill Hospital or implement safe staffing levels for nurses has contributed to the pressure on Western Sydney hospitals, including Westmead.
The Minns Labor Government is slowly undoing this by delivering much-needed infrastructure and rebuilding the health workforce.
The new purpose-built unit within Westmead ED will provide a secure, therapeutic environment designed to support patients experiencing acute distress.
In the past five years, Westmead has seen a 31 per cent increase in presentations where a patient is experiencing mental health or behavioural-related issues.
There's also been a significant increase in aggression towards frontline health staff in the Western Sydney Local Health District.
These issues may be related to substance abuse and can be exacerbated in a busy emergency department environment.
The new 6-bed unit will be a quiet space with less stimulation, better suited to patients who are at risk of becoming agitated or aggressive. It aims to:
- improve safety for patients and staff
- lower ED wait times and reduce disruption to other patients
- improve outcomes and reduce the length of stay for these patients.
Similar models of care at Nepean and Prince of Wales hospitals have resulted in reduced need for sedation and restraint, as well as a reduction in the length of stay and time to be seen in EDs.
Construction will begin in August, with the new unit expected to be completed in early 2027.
The unit will complement the Westmead Integrated Mental Health Complex, which is currently under construction and due for completion in late 2027.
The Minns Labor Government invested a record $3.1 billion on mental health in the 2025-26 financial year and is investing in more staff and more hospitals to reverse the Coalition's legacy of staff cuts and hospital construction failures, which devastated the health system.
The Government is building Rouse Hill Hospital with an emergency department and birthing services, which the Coalition promised at three elections but failed to deliver on, leaving Western Sydney missing a much-needed new hospital.
It's also investing in more beds for Blacktown and Mount Druitt hospitals after the Coalition failed to build enough beds.
The Government is also recruiting 237 additional nurses in Western and South-Western Sydney as part of delivering safe staffing ratios and saved 228 nurses from the region that the Liberals planned to cut.
The Minns Labor Government is also investing in more security for hospitals, including the roll out of more safe assessment units to more safely care for patients experiencing heightened distress, as well as recruiting over 160 more security personnel since taking office.
Minister for Health Ryan Park said:
"We are focused on delivering more beds and recruiting more staff to meet the increasing pressure on our hospital system.
"The failure of the Liberals to deliver enough beds and their refusal to recruit enough staff has caused significant strain on Western Sydney's hospital system.
"Added to this, we are seeing increasing behavioural issues among patients which presents a security and safety concern for staff and other patients.
"This new acute behavioural assessment unit will create a safer environment for both staff as well as patients experiencing heightened distress.
"It's part of a broader range of measures we are undertaking to improve safety and security in our hospitals."
Minister for Mental Health Rose Jackson said:
"Our nurses and clinicians who work at Westmead ED have told us they are seeing more and more patients who become aggressive or violent and it's making their job harder.
"Some patients don't deal well in the loud, busy environment of an emergency department, it can cause them to behave in a way that puts the safety of our staff and other patients at risk.
"That's why we're building a new, specialist unit to divert these patients away from the ED waiting room, improving outcomes for them and for our staff.
"It's just one of steps we're taking to build a better public health system and relieve pressure on EDs. We're also building a network of Safe Havens and Medicare Mental Health Centres so that people experiencing mental health concerns have another place to go other than the ED."
Member for Parramatta Donna Davis said:
"The new unit is an important addition for mental health care in Western Sydney - and one of the state's busiest hospitals at Westmead.
"Patient and staff safety are critical to the design this new space. Care will be delivered by experts and emergency clinicians trained in deescalation, mental health and drug health."
NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association, General Secretary, Michael Whaites:
"We welcome the creation of a dedicated, purpose-built unit in Westmead ED in order to combat the rising violence and aggression our members are experiencing.
"This is a great example of what can be achieved when we come together to find solutions to make hospitals safer for staff and patients, while ensuring the community has access to quality, timely care.
"We are proud of our members' ongoing advocacy and grateful for the collaborative approach that has delivered this outcome.
"This specialised unit will strengthen hospital safety, improve patient outcomes, and is a strong investment into the future of our public health system."
