The Chief Psychiatrist is committed to reducing working towards the elimination of restrictive practices, seclusion and restraint, in Western Australia (WA).  In order to promote transparency in the use of restrictive practices in WA, the Chief Psychiatrist has committed to publishing the rates of seclusion and restraint bi-annually for each authorised mental health service.

The historical rates of seclusion and restraint for the 2016 – 2017 financial year (1 July 2016 – 30 June 2017), and the 2017 – 2018 financial year (1 July 2017 – 30 June 2018), alongside charts showing trends in these data from 2016 – 2020 are now available.

See WA Seclusion and Restraint Data here

The Chief Mental Health Advocate, Ms Debora Colvin, stepped down from that role last Friday after a distinguished 13 years in the role.

She has forged an Advocacy Service with an incredibly strong integrity of model. Under her sage leadership, MHAS has been a true beacon for system accountability and a never-dimmed light on the path towards critical rights for the most vulnerable individuals in our community. Our collective thanks must go to Debora, with best wishes for her future.

We warmly welcome Ms Sarah Pollock as the new Chief Mental Health Advocate, and I look forward to working with her and the MHAS under her leadership.

Dr Nathan Gibson
Chief Psychiatrist WA