Allegations of Abuse
in Institutions |
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The complaint follows the sacking
of three staff members from the Haumietiketike secure unit in Barrister Michael Bott said police
acted in a discriminatory way by holding off investigations until the unit
had completed its own internal inquiries. "When someone in the community
is assaulted, say in a supermarket, the police don't stand back while "In this case, it appears the
police are standing back allowing an internal inquiry to unfold before, in
essence, these intellectually disabled people have their complaint taken
seriously," Mr Bott said. "So what there appears to be
is two standards in terms of the way in which police take these complaints. I
think that's improper and discriminatory." Wellington police spokeswoman Toni
Barlow said officers were investigating one complaint laid on behalf of a
Haumietiketike patient on March 6 and would not comment while it was under
way. In relation to a second alleged
incident, Ms Barlow said a formal complaint had not been laid with police. "Police have been told that
Capital and Coast District Health Board are conducting their own internal
investigation in relation to this allegation," Ms Barlow said. Police were not called to the
second alleged incident, becoming aware of it several days later. A formal
complaint was needed before an investigation could be launched. Mr Bott said he was drafting a
formal, written complaint to the commission. "Hopefully, we then get a
finding after they receive both points of view." It was disclosed last month that
three people had been sacked from the Haumietiketike unit after assault
complaints. Nigel Fairley, Capital and Coast's
director of forensic, rehabilitation and intellectual disability services,
said that in February two staff members at the unit "allegedly"
assaulted a male patient. "Those staff were immediately
suspended. An internal review of the incident was conducted and, as a result,
the two staff members were dismissed." Last week, it was disclosed a third
staff member had been sacked from the unit after an assault complaint from an
intellectually disabled patient. Board communications manager
Michael Tull said the alleged incident occurred at Easter and police
notified. The staff member was immediately suspended
and, after an internal investigation, was dismissed. Ministry of Health disability
services chief adviser Lester Mundell has denied there was a pattern of abuse
in the unit. "A number of incidents will
occur with a population of people like this. Those are properly documented
and the more serious ones are brought to our attention."
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