Mental health help queried after WA death

The spotlight has been thrown on Perth's emergency psychiatric help services after a fatal attack involving a young man who earlier sought treatment.

Joan Hendry, 52, died after her son Gabe Lang, 19, allegedly stabbed her in her White Gum Valley home on Monday night.

Police confirmed two other people, reportedly her daughter Rosie and partner Bruce, were injured in the incident and taken to hospital.

The man was himself seriously injured and is in a stable condition in Fremantle Hospital under police guard.

The major crime squad is investigating the attack.

It is understood Ms Hendry had earlier that night taken her son to Fremantle Hospital Mental Health Service, also known as the Alma Street Centre, but the facility had closed at 8pm.

It is also believed they then went to Fremantle Hospital's emergency department, but went home after waiting for more than two hours.

Police were called to the Stevens Street home just after 11.30pm.

WA Labor MP Simone McGurk, who knew Ms Hendry, questioned whether she and her son were adequately assisted in the emergency department.

"Joan Hendry was a nurse, she worked at Fremantle Hospital, so she would have been able to articulate at an emergency department what was going on and what was needed ... better than most," Ms McGurk told AAP.

Ms McGurk also questioned the ease with which emergency mental health could be accessed outside business hours.

"It's very problematic," she said.

"It's not clear to the community. It's not clear from the website."

The office of WA's chief psychiatrist said the 24-hour Mental Health Emergency Response Line was available to assess people in crisis, with clinicians providing assessment, support and immediate referral to further emergency assessment and treatment teams if necessary.

The teams, comprising mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, can immediately rush to callers with urgent or extreme risk assessments.

Ms McGurk was concerned about the closure of Fremantle Hospital's emergency department on February 3, with all patients to be referred to the new Fiona Stanley hospital several suburbs away in Murdoch.

Ms McGurk said Ms Hendry's friends were gathering in Fremantle on Wednesday night to remember her.