Hunter has one-third the psychiatrists of Sydney as waits hit six months
Hunter New England has 0.9 psychiatrists per 10,000 people, eighth-worst in Australia, with six-month waits leaving middle-income patients unable to access care.
The Hunter is in crisis. Newcastle psychiatrist Dr Tolu Fajumi says most psychiatrists have closed their books or have waiting lists of six months or longer.
Northern Sydney has 2.6 psychiatrists per 10,000 people; Central and Eastern Sydney has 2.7. The Hunter has 0.9.
People with modest incomes hit a "missing middle": too poor to afford private treatment, too stable to get urgent help from public crisis teams. Dr Fajumi was one of 11 Hunter psychiatrists who resigned last year over a pay and conditions dispute with the NSW government.
Four of them did not return to the region's public system, including a full-time child psychiatrist who moved interstate. The shortage is forcing hospitals to rely on expensive locums.
- 0.9 per 10,000
- Hunter psychiatrist ratio
- 8th worst out of 31 networks
- National ranking
- Six months or more
- Typical waiting list
Why it mattersPeople with depression or anxiety who need psychiatric care but aren't in crisis are being left untreated, forcing them into emergency departments and hospital beds when their conditions worsen.
AustraliaHunter and Central Coast residents needing mental health specialist care face months-long waits and may have no path to treatment. The shortages are pushing pressure onto emergency departments and mental health beds across the region.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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