Average cost per bed-day in specialised mental health inpatient services 

Rationale

Specialised mental health inpatient services provide patient care in authorised hospitals. To ensure quality of care and cost-effectiveness, it is important to monitor the unit cost of admitted patient care in specialised mental health inpatient services. The efficient use of hospital resources can help minimise the overall costs of providing mental health care and enable the reallocation of funds to appropriate alternative non-admitted care.

Target

The 2025-26 target for average cost per bed-day in specialised mental health inpatient services is $2,094. Improved or maintained performance is demonstrated by a result below or equal to target.

Results

Commentary

EMHS delivered specialised mental health inpatient services at a cost per bed-day of $2,275, which is higher by $181 compared to the target rate $2,094, and it is also $52 higher when compared to the 2024-25 actual result of $2,223.

EMHS saw a 4.5 per cent increase in demand for specialised mental health beds based on last year’s performance, with the fully refurbished Ward 2K at RPH re-opening on 24 July 2025. The re-opening of this Mental Health ward to its full capacity has contributed to increased demand.