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Allegations of Abuse
in Institutions |
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Former in-patients of Nelson's
Ngawhatu psychiatric hospital are among those who have talked of harrowing
treatment in a just-released report. The Confidential Forum for Former
In-Patients of Psychiatric Hospitals outlines the experiences of participants
in 53 of the country's psychiatric institutions, many of which have now been
closed. As well as Ngawhatu, they included
Carrington, Cherry Farm, Claybury House (attached to Kingseat), Kingseat,
Lake Alice, Oakley, Porirua, Queen Mary, Seacliff, Seaview, Sunnyside, and
Tokanui, as well as psychopaedic institutions such as Mangere and Kimberley. Former in-patients have talked of
rape, physical and mental abuse, bullying and fear. In July 2004, complaints of
serious mistreatment of patients at Ngawhatu were mounting. At the time, nine
former patients at All of the Nelson complaints
related to patients in the 1960s and 1970s, who say they were victims of
sexual and physical abuse by staff members and were subjected to electric
shock therapy as punishment. Mr Chapman said on Friday that the
number of complaints to date from former Ngawhatu patients had risen to at
least a dozen, but he was not sure if all had taken part in the forum, and
whether their earlier complaints were part of the outcome. Nelson Marlborough District Health
Board secretary Mike Cummins said on Friday that the board would examine the
report, and work with Crown Law and the residual health management unit,
which was charged with handling all claims arising before 1992 (when the
current mental health legislation came into effect). The process of closing The confidential forum was
announced by the Government in 2004 and established in 2005. Its main purpose
was to provide an accessible, confidential environment in which former
in-patients, family members of in-patients or former staff members could
describe their experiences of psychiatric institutions in
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