In the fallout of the resignation of two‑thirds of staff specialist psychiatrists at NSW Health, the Government is not only moving public psychiatric patients into private hospitals but also actively considering whether involuntary patients—those detained under the Mental Health Act 2007 (NSW)—can also be admitted to private hospitals.

If someone is admitted involuntarily under the Mental Health Act, there is a psychiatrist making a determination that the person needs to be admitted for treatment against their own will for their own safety or for the safety of the community.

Involuntary patients being treated in private, for-profit settings is a fundamental human rights concern and the Minister for Mental Health should rule it out.

So far, the NSW government has responded to the mass resignation of psychiatrists by plugging gaps with expensive, inefficient temporary staff, and now it wants to put the most vulnerable patients in private hospitals not equipped to support them.

Instead of patching over the crisis with privatisation and dangerous imposition on other health professionals, the NSW government must invest in a properly staffed, well-funded public mental health system.

Join me in urging the Mental Health Minister to rule out involuntary mental health care in private hospitals.