❓ WA Parliament Question on Notice regarding mental health presentations to public hospital emergency departments, including attendance numbers, proportions, average length of stay, and waiting times across different Health Service Providers.
AnsweredQoN 1714Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) I refer to mental health presentations to public hospital emergency departments (EDs) and I ask for each of the financial years 2023–24, 2024–25 and for 2025–26 to 1 December 2025, what was the: (a) number of emergency department attendances where the primary reason for presentation was a mental health condition; and (b) proportion of all emergency department attendances that were for a mental health condition (expressed as a percentage of total ED presentations)? (2) For each of the financial years in (1), by Health Service Provider, what was the: (a) average length of stay in the emergency department for mental health presentations; and (b) proportion of mental health presentations that waited longer than 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours respectively?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 March 2026
Responded by
Minister for Health; Mental Health
Response time
9 days
(1) (a) & (b) - The below table outlines the number of emergency department presentations where the primary reason for presentation was a mental health condition and the proportion these represent of total ED presentations by financial year from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2025:
HSP
2023-24
2024-25
2025/26
(Jul to Dec 2025)
(a)
(b)
(a)
(b)
(a)
(b)
NMHS
13,220
7.1%
12,873
6.9%
6,265
6.6%
SMHS
13,148
5.9%
13,416
6.1%
6,917
6.2%
EMHS
17,284
7.6%
16,452
7.3%
7,995
7.1%
WACHS
21,325
4.7%
21,503
4.6%
11,329
4.8%
CAHS
2,400
3.4%
2,339
3.2%
1,124
2.9%
(2) (a) - The below table outlines the average length of episode (minutes) of ED presentations where the primary reason for presentation was a mental health condition by financial year from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2025:
HSP
2023-24
2024-25
2025/26
(Jul to Dec 2025)
NMHS
438
474
564
SMHS
677
714
802
EMHS
485
572
677
WACHS
356
372
410
CAHS
333
339
347
2) (b) - The below table outlines the proportion of emergency department presentations where the primary reason for presentation was a mental health condition which waited longer than 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours by financial year from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2025:
HSP
2023-24
2024-25
2025/26
(Jul to Dec 2025)
> 4 hour
>8 hour
>12 hour
>24 hour
> 4 hour
>8 hour
>12 hour
>24 hour
> 4 hour
>8 hour
>12 hour
>24 hour
NMHS
3.3%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
4.9%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
6.5%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
SMHS
4.8%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
7.6%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
9.0%
0.6%
0.1%
0.0%
EMHS
1.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
3.2%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
4.4%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
WACHS
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
CAHS
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
HSP
2023-24
2024-25
2025/26
(Jul to Dec 2025)
(a)
(b)
(a)
(b)
(a)
(b)
NMHS
13,220
7.1%
12,873
6.9%
6,265
6.6%
SMHS
13,148
5.9%
13,416
6.1%
6,917
6.2%
EMHS
17,284
7.6%
16,452
7.3%
7,995
7.1%
WACHS
21,325
4.7%
21,503
4.6%
11,329
4.8%
CAHS
2,400
3.4%
2,339
3.2%
1,124
2.9%
(2) (a) - The below table outlines the average length of episode (minutes) of ED presentations where the primary reason for presentation was a mental health condition by financial year from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2025:
HSP
2023-24
2024-25
2025/26
(Jul to Dec 2025)
NMHS
438
474
564
SMHS
677
714
802
EMHS
485
572
677
WACHS
356
372
410
CAHS
333
339
347
2) (b) - The below table outlines the proportion of emergency department presentations where the primary reason for presentation was a mental health condition which waited longer than 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours by financial year from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2025:
HSP
2023-24
2024-25
2025/26
(Jul to Dec 2025)
> 4 hour
>8 hour
>12 hour
>24 hour
> 4 hour
>8 hour
>12 hour
>24 hour
> 4 hour
>8 hour
>12 hour
>24 hour
NMHS
3.3%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
4.9%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
6.5%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
SMHS
4.8%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
7.6%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
9.0%
0.6%
0.1%
0.0%
EMHS
1.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
3.2%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
4.4%
0.2%
0.1%
0.0%
WACHS
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
CAHS
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.