Wards in NSW’s largest psychiatric hospital close as mass resignations begin

Psychiatrists Dr Christina Matthews and Dr Anu Kataria with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ Dr Pramudie Gunaratne (centre). Photograph: Natasha May/The Guardian

Mental health wards have begun to close in New South Wales as negotiations to avert the mass resignations of psychiatrists continue.

At Cumberland psychiatric hospital, the largest mental health facility in NSW and the oldest in Australia, the acute and rehabilitation wards have closed, and the NSW branch of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) predicts more will follow.