Acute mental health patients waiting up to six days in hospital's ED

Acute mental health patients have been waiting up to six days in the emergency department of a major Sydney hospital in a situation described by one doctor as unprecedented, immoral and potentially dangerous.

The ABC has confirmed 12 patients with acute mental illness had been in the emergency department of Westmead Hospital in Sydney's west for more than 48 hours as of Monday afternoon.

Seven of those patients had been in the hospital for more than 100 hours, with the longest stretch being more than 148 hours or more than six days.

A Westmead doctor, who asked to remain anonymous to protect their employment, said each of the patients was experiencing psychotic illness and being held involuntarily.

They said the patients were awaiting transfer to Cumberland Hospital, a dedicated mental health facility.

"It's unconscionable how awful it is for those people, how awful it is for patients with unrelated medical issues around them and the potential danger to the staff."

'It's immoral'

The doctor likened sleeping and receiving treatment in the emergency department to being forced to stay in an airport.

"It's constantly lit, constantly busy, constantly noisy. You can't tell me it's a therapeutic or restful environment," they said.

The Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) has been contacted for comment.

Mental Health Minister Rose Jackson said extended wait times were "well below the experience I want for anyone accessing our mental health system".

"Westmead and the Western Sydney Local Health District are currently experiencing high demand," Ms Jackson said.

"While I can't comment on individual patients, any person remaining in an emergency department while awaiting transfer continues to receive care and clinical oversight."

She said construction of the new Westmead Centre for Mental Health was underway and would deliver a "substantial" increase in beds in the region.

Westmead had the longest emergency department wait times of any hospital in the WSLHD in figures released in September.

Just 49.1 per cent of patients received treatment on time, with an average wait time of 6.5 hours.

Mental health professionals across NSW have been raising the alarm over conditions for workers and their patients more than 12 months.

Public psychiatrists threatened to resign en masse last year over pay and conditions, with the state's Industrial Relations Commission later finding the specialist doctors deserved a pay bump.