The ABC has spoken with former patients and advocates who want regular checks, similar to those carried out at the state's prisons and youth detention facilities.
Bella (not her real name) was an involuntary patient at Mackay Base Hospital's inpatient mental health unit last year and believes the locked wards need more oversight. She said she was watching a movie in the ward's communal room when a male patient sat down next to her and made a sexual advance towards her.
"I was in there by myself, and he touched my legs and asked me to come into the bathroom with him," she said. "He wanted me to do sexual activities with him in the psych ward. I was really scared, and I couldn't really get out of the room that I was in."
When the man eventually left, Bella called the Queensland Police Service (QPS). "The hospital had taken my phone off me, so I used the communal phone to call the police," she said. Bella says the man had also made inappropriate comments about her body, and other men had exposed themselves to her while she was in the ward.
Data from the Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO) shows there were 19 complaints about sexual misconduct related to a mental health service provided by a hospital and health service in Queensland between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2026. Of these, four were investigated by OHO, and one resulted in immediate action being taken. Organisations involved in the sector believe the actual figures to be higher, according to a report by the Queensland Public Advocate.
Bella does not believe she has a mental illness and said she was referred to mental health services after reporting to family and police that she had experienced domestic violence and cyberstalking. "I experienced extreme trauma while incarcerated in the psychiatric ward," she said.
A QPS spokesperson said investigations into "a reported assault" at the hospital were ongoing, but police could not release any further information at this stage.