The haemorrhage of psychiatrists from the NSW state-funded mental health system parallels losses throughout Australia, and internationally. The lack of workforce cripples the capacity to provide adequate care. There has been persistently neglectful under-resourcing of the care of people with severe mental illness. A sense of horror exists due to the inability to provide high-quality care as a result of lack of infrastructure, staff, and time. This horror has driven psychiatrists to exit a dysfunctional state-funded health system, and an urgent remedy, although needed, appears absent.
Keywords: burnout; moral injury; public psychiatric services; reform; staff shortages.