Patients at risk from 'toxic' mental health service, clinicians warn

Mental health workers say 'decimated' Albury Wodonga Health service puts patients at risk Fri 3 Jul 2026 at 5:59am Warning: This story contains references to suicide. Doctor Sarah Dahlenburg was so worried about her "decimated" and "unsafe" public mental health service she felt compelled to warn Albury Wodonga Health (AWH) leaders in 2021. Two months later, a mental health inpatient at the service died from self-harm. "I just felt … because of the lack of stability of staffing, especially within [inpatient unit] Nolan House, that something bad, a critical incident, was very likely to happen," the psychiatrist said. Dr Dahlenburg had worked for the service for 14 years. She resigned from her visiting medical officer contract just weeks before the tragedy amid a major staffing restructure. She warned in her exit letter to the service's then-deputy chair Doug McRae that "a critical incident is inevitable" and reported that up to 10 experienced psychiatrists had left over issues with hospital management. "My concerns were that a lot of extremely experienced staff [such as] psychiatrists, nursing staff, registrars had left the service because it had become a toxic workplace," she said. Dr Dahlenburg said she was worried nothing had been done to fix the culture in the five years since she wrote that letter, driving away staff and preventing clinicians from speaking up about workplace concerns. "It was a culture of 'do as I say and do not question anything, and changes will be made without consultation, and if you do not like it then life could be made very difficult'," she said. 'Toxic' culture continues More than a dozen current and former Albury Wodonga Health mental health staff across a range of disciplines have spoken to the ABC about working under a culture of "fear" and "bullying" at the service. Some are currently on or have taken stress leave, or are receiving WorkCover as a result of psychological injury. WorkSafe data shows 20 Albury Wodonga Health employees have received WorkCover in the past five years due to psychological injury. Thirty-four psychological injury claims were made against the service in that time. The mental health clinicians told the ABC they felt targeted for raising concerns about workplace issues and patient safety, staffing instability, and poor leadership and morale. Social worker Kellie Stastny worked for Albury Wodonga Health's Infant, Child and Youth Mental Health Service (ICYMHS) for three years and resigned in March citing similar issues. She said hospital management failed to adequately address her workplace concerns, and that staff were "marginalised" when they spoke up. "It's really apparent that people who raise issues within Albury Wodonga Health are characterised as being difficult or problematic and those concerns aren't really validated or taken seriously," she said. A group of Albury Wodonga Health staff last year wrote to Victoria's Office of the Chief Psychiatrist (OCP) after ICYMHS was left without a permanent psychiatrist and shared staffing, recruitment, and budgeting concerns. "Given the serious risks at play, we are escalating our concerns to your office," the letter stated. "Without change occurring, we're failing the very people this service is meant to help." Former staff told the ABC some patients consequently received virtual psychiatric telehealth from overseas clinicians who did not turn on their cameras. An OCP spokesperson said all matters raised were taken seriously and investigated, and it was working with Albury Wodonga Health to ensure the delivery of safe and high quality mental health care. Albury Wodonga Health has been contacted for comment. 'They were destroying lives' Mental health nurse Fiona Richardson worked at Albury Wodonga Health for 18 years before leaving in March. "I left because there was years and years of deterioration in service," she said. "I was bullied, I watched multiple colleagues be bullied. "It became a very toxic place where people didn't have a voice anymore." As a union delegate for 13 years she supported many colleagues as they raised with management concerns about cross-border mental health care and staffing. "I saw that people who spoke out … or challenged change [were] increasingly bullied," she said. She said union members were particularly targeted. "They were destroying lives, and experienced people were either leaving or being bullied out and becoming unwell,"she said. Mental health nurse, Alicia Patterson, left the service in 2024 after four years due to workplace culture and its impact on patient care. "People are dying," she said. "They actually are losing their lives because they are so frustrated with the system, or they get so unwell and the care's not there and it's not recognised." Patients feeling the pain Richard Hendrie describes himself as a "revolving door" mental health patient at Albury Wodonga Health. He said the service was resistant to change. "It's toxic, it makes you sick and it makes people sick," he said. "There are elements within Albury Wodonga Health generally, not just mental health, [that] treat feedback as a personal attack." Mr Hendrie, who sits on the NSW Suicide Prevention Council, was rejected by Albury Wodonga Health when he applied for a role on its Community Engagement Committee in 2023 despite years of recognised mental health advocacy. "We considered your past interaction with our service and feel this was not consistent with our Code of Conduct nor our organisational values," former Albury Wodonga Health board chair Jonathan Green, who resigned this year, wrote to Mr Hendrie. "We place a high value on a positive and respectful work environmental for all of our members." Mr Hendrie said the response was indicative of the service's attitude to staff and consumers. "I find it's very reluctant to take on feedback, and if it does you are gaslit into being a rebel rouser or unreasonable or not aligning with the values of the health service,"he said. He said ultimately patients suffered if they did not feel heard. "If consumers and carers don't have trust in the system they simply will not attend it," he said. Years of ailing culture Albury Wodonga Health has long been aware of dissatisfaction within its mental health service. The Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) last year blew the whistle on "cultural dysfunction" within Albury Wodonga Health's mental health workforce. Its survey showed 49 per cent of members personally experienced bullying and harassment and 76 per cent reported the source of bullying as its executive and senior leadership. Another 73 per cent reported feeling unsafe and fearful in raising concerns with management about inappropriate behaviour or workload. "The system is not safe for consumers or for the clinicians working within it, and urgent intervention is required to restore a dedicated, specialist mental health service that puts safety and care first," HACSU stated in a press release. In June 2021 more than 20 clinicians signed a letter to the then-Albury Wodonga Health board worried about poor management, OH&S breaches, staff shortages, and dangerous working conditions. Several former staff who signed the 2021 letter told the ABC they felt punished for raising concerns. Some signatories remain on WorkCover due to psychological injury and say the issues remain unaddressed. Concerns about staff and patient safety were also raised to senior management in 2019 by union members. In a written statement to the ABC, AWH acting chief executive Kim White and AWH chief psychiatrist Elizabeth McArdle said creating a safe, respectful and supportive workplace was a priority for the health service. "Following the Safer Care Victoria review, significant organisation-wide work is underway to strengthen culture, leadership and accountability, including improving how concerns are raised and addressed," the statement said. "We are listening to staff, responding to concerns and building a better, safer workplace." A Victorian government spokesperson said the Department of Health was working closely with Albury Wodonga Health to improve workplace culture.