Murrumbidgee Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Alliance chair Robyn Manzies raised concerns about practitioners overloaded with mental health, drug and alcohol cases as she addressed the Special Commission of Inquiry into Healthcare Funding on Tuesday.

Ms Manzies told the inquiry the sector is "chronically underfunded" with clinicians carrying "really high caseloads of really unwell people".

"It's pretty hard and high risk work. You're always second-guessing yourself," she said.

Ms Manzies - who also worked for over a decade as MLHD director of mental health and drug and alcohol services - told the inquiry the high workload being given to patients is leading to burnout, making it hard to retain workers in the sector.

The alliance is a group of about 20 different bodies including health support services and non-clinical services, with the majority being non-government organisations. The three major members of the alliance are the MLHD, MPHN and the department of communities and justice.

The inquiry heard there are 20 sub-acute beds allocated in the mental health services at Wagga Base Hospital to treat acute patients, however there are no more allocated across the entire remainder hospitals in the health district.

Ms Manzies said there is currently a gap where some patients not severe enough to be hospitalised can't get treatment as other service providers are deeming them too unwell.

Speaking with The Daily Advertiser outside the courthouse, Ms Manzies said mental health problems have been on the rise.

"This means there is greater demand on those services," she said.

"And there aren't enough services in all the sectors to meet all the needs, so some people aren't getting access to the services they need."

The Alliance also deals with mental health support around suicide prevention and support to bereaved loved ones.

Ms Manzies told the inquiry an average of 42 people across the MLHD take their own lives each year, with men far outnumbering females, according to 2015-2019 data.

"Thirty-five of those [cases] are male," she said.

Ms Manzies also noted suicide is the third-highest cause of death in people aged between zero and 74 years.

She told the inquiry 8 per cent of those deaths were First Nations people.

"As I understand it, they are over-represented in relation to the [rest of the] population," she said.

Ms Manzies told the inquiry suicides were "avoidable".

"One death translates into a lot of grief and trauma," she said.

If you or anyone you know needs crisis support, you can contact the following services: