Allegations of Abuse in Institutions
	Psychiatric Hospitals Index Jan-June 2004 Index
	The Nelson Mail June 14 2004 Nelson patients alleging abuse The Government is considering an inquiry into claims of serious abuse at mental health hospitals, Prime Minister Helen Clark said today. Almost 200 complaints have been made by former patients who allege they were abused in mental asylums during the 1960s and 1970s. Wellington lawyer Roger Chapman said two of the complaints had been received from former patients of Nelson's Ngawhatu Hospital. They alleged they were victims of sexual and physical abuse by staff members and that they were subject to electric shock therapy as punishment, during the 1960s. The man was in his late teens and the woman between nine and 10 years old at the time of the alleged abuse. Mr Chapman said there was a possibility more complaints against Ngawhatu Hospital would be laid, but he had not had time to gather more details from other former patients. It was reported at the weekend that the claims of mistreatment of patients that were previously confined to the former Porirua and Lake Alice asylums encompass most of the closed mental hospitals from Auckland to Otago. Miss Clark said the Government was looking at the claims and the allegations were being taken seriously. A decision would then be made on whether a ``more formal'' inquiry should be carried out. New allegations that have surfaced included the alleged beating of 11-year-old Clement Matthews in Kingseat Hospital, south of Auckland, in 1968. A pathologist found no marks of external violence at the time of his death and a coroner concluded that Clement died of pneumonia. But police have reopened their investigation into the death after another former child patient told of seeing a male nurse pull Clement violently to the floor and kick him hard on his back. Attorney General Margaret Wilson would make a decision on whether to hold an inquiry when she was satisfied she had enough evidence, Miss Clark said. ``Until the Crown has completed its investigation, no decision can be made on whether or not to hold an inquiry,'' she said. Ms Wilson said on June 1 that 62 claims had been filed relating to Porirua and other institutions. She understood another 44 were expected to be filed. Nearly 70 of the claims have been filed in the High Court, each seeking compensation of up to $500,000 and exemplary damages approaching $50,000. Mr Chapman and fellow Wellington lawyer Sonja Cooper have received nearly 200 complaints from former patients, most of whom were aged eight to 16 at the time. The allegations include sexual assaults and beatings by staff and patients, use of electric-shock therapy and drug injections as punishment, being over-sedated and being locked in solitary confinement for long periods. Dr Allen Fraser, chairman of the New Zealand national committee of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, said he was uneasy about the ``trial by media'' surrounding the claims.