The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-09-16 · by Carla Hildebrandt
Western Australia is reducing the number of inpatient mental health beds for children under 16 from 20 to 16 at Perth Children’s Hospital, despite ongoing concerns about the strain on the system. This decision comes as a surprise to advocates like Meron Savage, whose daughter died by suicide after multiple hospital admissions. Despite previous recommendations and reviews highlighting severe deficiencies in mental health services for young people, including inadequate bed numbers and long waiting times, only one out of 32 recommended changes has been fully implemented according to an auditor general’s report.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Western Australia will cut the number of inpatient mental health beds available for children in crisis, despite years of warnings that the system is struggling to keep up.
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system → cut → warnings
This masthead can reveal Perth Children’s Hospital’s mental health inpatient ward for children under 16 will be reduced from 20 beds to 16, once an ongoing refurbishment is complete.
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refurbishment → reveal → 16
A Child and Adolescent Health Service spokesperson said the ward would have “more therapeutic and activity spaces, and an enlarged courtyard to meet the contemporary needs of patients”.
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ward → say → patients
But the move to fewer beds comes as a shock to bereaved Port Kennedy mother Meron Savage, whose daughter Kate, 13, died by suicide in July 2020, after multiple admissions to PCH.
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Savage → come → PCH
Kate’s death led to a major review of the state’s mental health system for young people.
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death → lead → people
In December 2020, chief psychiatrist at the time, Nathan Gibson, found Kate’s death highlighted a “serious problem” with a system that is struggling to cope with a rise in demand.
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that → find → demand
“(The system) is not set up to properly respond to the steep growth in self-harm, suicidal ideation and attempted suicide … primarily in the 13 to 17 year age group, but also worryingly, in the younger age groups,” Gibson said.
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Gibson → set → groups
He also noted the lack of beds at the time, writing there was “an increasing number of children and young people with mental health disorders admitted to other wards in the hospital because of a lack of available specialist mental health beds in Ward 5A”.
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He → note → 5A
Gibson recommended a ministerial taskforce be created to overhaul mental health services for young people.
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taskforce → recommend → people
The taskforce later made 32 recommendations, which the state government committed to implementing.
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government → make → which
However, an auditor general’s report in June found just one had been completed, 26 were in progress, and five had not been implemented.
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five → find → progress
Meron said in the last months of her daughter’s life, she attended the PCH emergency department eight times and had six admissions.
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she → say → admissions
She said they sometimes spent 24 and 36 hours waiting for a bed in the emergency department.
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they → say → department
And said Kate was discharged before she was ready “every time”.
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she → say → ?
A CAHS spokesperson told this masthead Ward 5A had an average occupancy rate of 59 per cent this financial year and 57 per cent over the past four financial years.
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Ward → tell → years
But Meron said this data did not reflect her experience.
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data → say → experience
“I don’t know why the beds are only half full.
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beds → know → ?
It is concerning given the psychiatric report after Kate’s death saying the system was severely under strain,” she said.
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she → give → strain
“In our case, Kate could not be kept safe in hospital, because the supervision was not appropriate, and she was still somehow able to self harm.
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she → keep → hospital
So she would be discharged, but we could not keep her safe either.”
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we → discharge → her
In the final months of Kate’s life, Meron and her husband tried to turn their family home into somewhere their daughter could not hurt herself.
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daughter → try → herself
They hid power cords, phone chargers, cutlery, plates, glasses and cleaning products.
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They → hide → cords
Light fittings were removed and even Kate’s wardrobe because it had a rail.
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it → remove → rail
“We had to remove all cutlery because even spoons can be bent and snapped and then used to self-harm,” Meron said.
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Meron → have → cutlery
Everything is locked.
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Everything → lock → ?
I had to sleep with a key around my neck.
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I → have → neck
Me or my husband had to be awake at all times.
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Me → have → times
“You never feel like they’re safe.”
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they → feel → ?
Meron said Kate could be happy and making plans, but then have an impulse to hurt herself.
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Kate → say → herself
“If they can’t be at home, but they can’t be in hospital, where can they go?” she said.
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she → go → hospital
A CAHS spokesperson said the number of beds currently in use “varied daily to meet the needs of young people”.
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number → say → people
“CAHS is committed to delivering and expanding specialised mental health services to support children and young people in the community,” the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → commit → community
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