On September 30, 2010 acting life skills co-ordinator Mr E allowed Mr A to use a circular saw for the kindling activity under the supervision of community support worker Mr F, Mr Hill said in his report. Neither Mr A nor Mr F had been trained and signed off as competent to use the circular saw.
At 10.15am, Mr A had an accident with the circular saw when his clothing became tangled in the saw blade. It was decided that it was not safe for him to continue using the saw.
The saw was turned off but still plugged in.
Mr F saw Mr A pick up the saw, but failed to do anything about it.
About five minutes later, Mr F heard Mr A scream. He turned and saw Mr A lying on the stack of pallets with the saw lodged in his abdomen, the report said.
He was rushed to hospital where he had surgery. He has since made a full recovery.
Amongst his criticisms, Mr Hill said there appeared to have been a "lax approach" to compliance with policies by staff at Timata Hou, and a casual attitude to staff and client use of power tools.
"That attitude and approach to client use of power tools was inappropriate."
He said it was "foreseeable" that a serious incident could occur.
"I find that Timata Hou failed to provide services to Mr A with reasonable care and skill," Mr Hill said.
"I also find that Timata Hou did not provide Mr A with services in a manner that minimised the potential harm to Mr A."
He considered that Timata Hou's departure from accepted practice in relation to the service provided to Mr A was severe.
No one from IHC was available for comment.
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