The man, already well known to the local mental health service and who should have been on a previously imposed compulsory treatment order, was taken into custody last Thursday after threatening people in a public toilet.
On speaking to the man’s clinical specialist, Mr Sceats was told the treatment order had lapsed and an application to renew it hadn’t been made because the man couldn’t be located. This meant the man hadn’t been getting his treatment.
Mr Sceats asked the clinical specialist and police to contact the crisis team to have the man assessed while in custody so the treatment order could be renewed.
Police conveyed the message to the service but no one from the crisis team showed up, Mr Sceats said.
There had been “no action whatsoever” before police rightfully had to release the man back into the community, albeit still in need of medical care.
Mr Sceats said his client could easily have been checked while in custody and qualified for it under both relevant limbs of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992. The man was clearly suffering from a mental illness at the time and was a danger to himself and others.
“Its absolutely appalling that people like this are not given the respect that they deserve by the mental health system in Gisborne,” Mr Sceats said.
In addition, Mr Sceats said the threatening to kill charge on which his client was scheduled to appear in court that day should never have been laid.
The charge arose out of an incident at Ward 11 earlier this year when the man allegedly threatened a nurse in the unit. He had been put in seclusion but the nurse had apparently approached him again, Mr Sceats said.
That second approach upset the man further and he made another threat, resulting in the charge.
“It’s just appalling in my view that he’s before the court anyway because he’s in Ward 11 and let’s face it, people in there are going to make those kinds of threats, particularly when they’re provoked and unwell.
“I’m just appalled at the service that people like him are getting in Gisborne at the moment,” Mr Sceats said.
He told Judge Turitea Bolstad he had intended at this hearing to ask the court to direct Section 38 mental health reports.
However, it was an unnecessary and costly exercise for the man given he had recently gone through the same process, his medical condition was well known, and the outcome would inevitably result in the charge effectively being dismissed.
He was hopeful police might see the futility of the situation and apply to have the charge withdrawn.
Meanwhile, he couldn’t argue against the court issuing a warrant for the man’s arrest as it must when people failed to turn up.
Judge Bolstad said she was yet to see a summary of the alleged offending but was also concerned about the man’s situation.
“And especially if I issue the warrant and he’s unwell and he’s apprehended then he’s subject to being charged further — all because he can’t get medical assistance that he needs,” the judge said.
She issued a warrant to lie in court until later that day to allow more time for the man to be located.
Mr Sceats was also critical of Community Mental Health Services efforts on that front. He believed mental health workers could previously have made more of an effort to find the man when they needed to complete the necessary checks for his treatment order to be extended.
The homeless community in Gisborne were typically quite visible. The man would not have been that difficult to locate, Mr Sceats said.
In response, Lynsey Bartlett, Interim Lead Hospital and Specialist Services said: “We are unable to comment on specific individual cases due to their right for confidentiality and privacy.
“Mental health and addiction services have a long-standing and very good relationship with our local police that includes timely response to requests for assessments.
“Every attempt is made to support whaiora and their whanau with how they would like to be supported.
“As a responsible employer, we do not tolerate abuse and threats of harm towards our staff.”
