Blayde Merson: Navy veteran with diagnosed PTSD made to wait 48 hours for hospital bed at Peel Health Campus

A navy veteran battling PTSD was left waiting in a bed in the middle of a busy emergency department for at least 48 hours because no mental health beds were available. Blayde Merson was rushed to Peel Health Campus last Monday after dialling triple-0. He arrived at the campus just after 7pm. The 26-year-old said that he then spent two hours “ramped” in the ambulance waiting area before he was wheeled to an open space in the middle of the busy ED for observation — and left there until 8pm on Wednesday. Dubbed “flight deck one”, the area has no curtains and no call bells — just beds placed in the middle of a busy ED. Speaking to The West Australian from Peel Health Campus on Wednesday, Mr Merson said that he felt abandoned. “They don’t know what to do with me,” he said. “I’ve been palmed off in the alleyway of the triage where the ambulances come through and (Tuesday) night I got told that I’m not allowed any more food. “I feel a bit angry and I guess left out ... they’re very understaffed at the moment.” Peel Health Campus has no mental health beds. “Peel Health Campus cannot provide details of a patient’s care due to privacy reasons,” a South Metropolitan Health Service spokesperson said. “He (Mr Merson) has been provided with appropriate care in a clinically suitable location.” It is not the first time a mental health patient has been left to languish in the ED waiting for care. Devan Beau Ginbey waited for help in the same holding area on January 13, 2022, after being admitted with severe self-inflicted lacerations to his arm the day prior. In crisis, Mr Ginbey left the ED undetected before returning home to end his life. When he was found, he had already suffered a severe brain injury. He died four days later. The sole recommendation from the inquest into his death, the findings of which were released in May, was that Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson commit to funding a 10-bed mental health observation area and 20-bed inpatient mental health unit. A $152 million upgrade of Peel Health Campus, announced in 2020, was slated to add an extra 60 beds — including a 10-bed mental health emergency centre — but progress on the project is yet to materialise. The South Metropolitan Health Service rejected claims that Mr Merson was told to self-administer his own medication and only given three meals over two days. Mr Merson said other mental health patients, who arrived under police escort, were given priority for any spare beds. “It’s made it hard to sleep, especially when police bring in people when they’ve been aggressive and I’m right near the doorway,” he said. Ambulances spent 5985 hours ramped outside WA hospitals in September, a 54 per cent increase compared to September 2023. Peel Health Campus recorded 447 hours of ramping in September. The average transfer of care time, for patients arriving via ambulance, was 90 minutes at Peel Health Campus last Monday. Triage three patients inside the emergency department are meant to be seen within 30 minutes but faced a median wait time of 132 minutes. Public health advocate Suresh Rajan claimed mental health patients are too often left to wait, with statistics showing defence veterans are overrepresented. The royal commission into defence and veteran suicide, which handed down its final report in September, found that male patients who served in the armed forces were 90 per cent more likely to be admitted to a public hospital for self-harm. “People don’t care enough for veterans right across employment services, health services,” Mr Rajan said. “Blayde’s experience seems to fit in with that. “You cannot predicate a health service on how loudly you shout at a triage desk. “It really highlights a lack of spending of a huge surplus that we’ve got in this state on essential services like this.” Mr Merson was transferred to Rockingham General Hospital on Wednesday night before being admitted to a publicly funded bed in a private facility. Open Arms 1800 011 046