Allegations of Abuse in Institutions
	Psychiatric Hospitals Index July-Dec 2004 Index
	One News December 7 2004 Anger over forum for psych patients A group representing former mental health service users is outraged that the government is setting up a confidential forum to hear their claims of abuse. About 300 former patients have made complaints about their treatment at mental hospitals across New Zealand when most were aged between eight and 16. They have alleged beatings and sexual abuse by staff and other patients, excessive use of electro-shock treatment and drugs and solitary confinement. Some victims have told media they were not mentally ill and as children from broken homes were institutionalised because no-one knew how to control their behaviour. The government is setting up the forum so former patients, their families and former staff can gain acknowledgement of their experiences. Attorney-General Margaret Wilson says they looked carefully at holding an inquiry, but many former psychiatric patients wanted a way to talk about their stories. Wilson says where appropriate, a panel will refer people to mediation or counselling. The forum will not establish liability or award compensation to victims, most of whom were children at the time of the alleged abuse. "The forum is designed to give former patients a chance to talk about their experiences in a non-critical and confidential environment," Wilson says. But the Psych Survivors Redress Coalition says the move is an insult. Spokesperson Helen Gilbert says the government is failing to provide a mechanism for acknowledgment and apologies. She says a forum forces one of society's most vulnerable groups to go through formal court proceedings. Lawyer Sonja Cooper, who represents former psychiatric patients, also diasgrees with the forum saying it will not meet the needs of the patients. "It might be a very good forum for former staff and family members - who do not have any right to redress - to tell their stories," Cooper says. "But for those who actually suffered the abuse. I think it's just talk." She says the New Zealand government has lagged other countries by not setting up a compensation scheme. "We know there was a culture of abuse, not only of course for the people in psychiatric hospitals but other people who were in institutional care during that historic period." Cooper says it is crucial there is an acknowledgement the abuse happened and that the patients receive some form of apology. Wilson says those seeking compensation would still have to go through the courts. "A court is the best place to this given the historic nature of the claims, the issues of credibility and the size of compensation sought," she said. But Cooper says that may mean victims may have to relive their traumatic experiences twice. The Ombudsman, former judge Anand Satyanand, will chair the forum, which is open only to those who were inpatients before 1992. Wilson says people hospitalised from 1992 have access to other complaint mechanisms.