More than a day: data reveals how long mental health patients spent secluded

Patients requiring seclusion at Mater's mental health centre spent an average of 17 hours longer alone when compared to patients at other NSW hospitals, new data reveals.

Mental health patients in the Newcastle hospital were secluded on average for longer than those anywhere else in the state, data from the Bureau of Health Information (BHI) has revealed.

The Mater acute mental health centre is operated by Hunter New England Health and co-located with the Calvary Mater Hospital.

The Mater centre was also second in NSW for the number of seclusion events, according to the data recorded from July to December in 2025.

Mental health patients who required seclusion from staff and other patients at the Mater spent, on average, more than 27 hours by themselves. This was up nearly 24 hours on average from the same period in 2024.

The state average was 10 hours and 20 minutes for the same period July to December period last year.

The Mater was the busiest mental health intensive care unit (MHICU) in the state, providing treatment for patients with a higher level of clinical severity and complexity across the Hunter.

In the data period, it recorded 1652 mental health episodes of acute care, the highest for a hospital with a dedicated MHICU. It was only surpassed by the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, which tallied 1782 in the same six-month period.

The BHI collects data and reports on targets for the number of cases requiring the use of seclusion or restraint.

Seclusion is defined as when a patient is placed alone in a room or an area at any time of day or night, with no freedom of exit.

Restraint is when a patient's freedom of movement is restricted by physical means (that is, hands on immobilisation by healthcare staff) or mechanical means (through the application of devices).

The target for the percentage of acute mental health episodes of care with at least one seclusion event in 2025-26 is less than 4.1 per cent.

The Mater was one of 12 hospitals to miss this target (6.4 per cent). The others included the John Hunter (4.9 per cent) and Maitland Hospital (4.6 per cent), with the NSW average of 3.5 per cent below the target.

Dr Anand Swamy, executive director of mental health services for the Hunter New England Local Health District, said seclusion and restraint were only used as a last resort when necessary to keep patients or staff safe.

"The latest BHI Seclusion and Restraint Report [July - December 2025] shows that the majority of acute mental health episodes of care at specialised acute mental health inpatient units within our district had no events of seclusion or restraint," he said.

"As so few events occur, the reporting on the number and duration of events can be significantly varied by a single event or a small number of events lasting considerably longer than others."

Dr Swamy said while rates of seclusion and restraint had remained mostly stable across the district, some hospitals experienced an increase in events during this period due to higher consumer presentations.

"Hunter New England Mater Mental Health Intensive Care Unit (MHICU) provides specialised intensive care for mental health consumers requiring care in one of the seven statewide MHICU," he said.

"These units care for people requiring the highest clinical severity and complexity mental health care in the state.

"Eliminating restrictive practices is a significant challenge requiring constant vigilance and effort, particularly when caring for people with complex behaviours that need supportive, compassionate, and comprehensive care and management."

"We continue to focus on improving results through the implementation of several initiatives, including the Safewards program, which aims to reduce restrictive practices and build a positive and supportive culture in collaboration with consumers and carers."

Of the 1652 acute cases at the Mater, only 160 required the use of a seclusion event, up six cases on the previous year (a rise of 3.9 per cent).

However, the average duration of seclusion events ballooned by 23 hours and 43 minutes to 27 hours and 24 minutes.

In comparison, the Royal Prince Alfred saw 138 seclusion events (up almost 90 per cent) with an average duration of only five hours and 54 minutes, a decrease of an hour and 13 minutes compared to the previous year.

The RPA does not have a dedicated mental health ICU, and the percentage of acute mental health episodes of care with at least one seclusion or physical restraint event in MHICU facilities was typically higher and varied.

Of other MHICUs, Campbelltown had the second-highest number of acute episodes of care (1321), but only recorded 21 seclusion events with an average duration of an hour and 38 minutes.

The only other hospital to climb above the 20-hour mark for average duration was the Forensic Hospital (24 hours and 35 minutes in 112 events), NSW's only high-security forensic mental health facility.

The Mater also ranked second for the number of restraint events across the state.

It recorded 198 (8 per cent of events), and was only passed by the forensic hospital with 204 (71.3 per cent). The state average was 5 per cent.

The average duration of restraint events fell by five minutes at the Mater compared to 2024, coming down to four minutes below the state average.

Campbelltown, in comparison, recorded 73 restraint events (4.1 per cent of events) with an average duration of two minutes.

• Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed the seclusion statistics to the Calvary Mater Newcastle rather than the co-located Mater Mental Health Centre operated by Hunter New England Health.