One in 10 mentally ill people presenting to emergency departments in south-west Sydney hospitals is stuck there for over 24 hours, as the state’s mental healthcare system grapples with how to care for vulnerable psychiatric patients.

The “inhumane” conditions, wait times, and delays left little wonder why people with mental health problems became upset and absconded from hospitals, the president of Australia’s peak body for emergency physicians said.

Patients presenting to emergency departments for mental health related problems are more likely to face longer wait times than other patients. Credit:Jay Cronan

The Bureau of Health Information's deep dive into mental health care in NSW found roughly 40 per cent of patients presenting to the state's EDs with mental health-related problems were still there four hours later; significantly higher than the 27 per cent of patients with no mental health problems.

In South West Sydney hospitals (which include Liverpool, Bankstown and Fairfield) 10 per cent of all patients with mental health problems - were stuck in EDs for more than 24 hours, according to the report released on Wednesday.