The patient says she was struggling with addiction and bipolar when the mental health worker from a secure unit she was admitted to for five weeks paid her for sex.
The patient says she was struggling with addiction and bipolar when the mental health worker from a secure unit she was admitted to for five weeks paid her for sex.
Over the years the patient has struggled with bipolar and drug addiction.
She is a sex worker - a job she is proud of and enjoys without any shame.
“I genuinely love my job and my bookings and want to be a really good escort,” she said, adding that was a big motivation for seeking treatment.
The woman is proud of her work in the sex industry and feels the mental health worker took advantage of her while she was struggling.
She said she met the mental health worker through a church in their hometown a few years ago.
She spoke to him then about her occupation and her personal struggle with addiction.
Last year she encountered him again when she was admitted to a mental health unit to help with her bipolar, and a drug relapse.
She told the Herald that during her admission the man “took a genuine interest in helping me”.
“We talked about my want to begin sex work again,” she said.
“Five weeks later I was discharged on a Friday and began sex work on the Saturday. Then a week later I get a private number call and it was [the mental health worker] wanting a booking to have sex with me.”
She felt that she had no one else to turn to and was comfortable with the worker as he knew about her history and had said he wanted to help with her issues.
Text messages show the patient suggested the pair meet for a drink.
“Not a booking, just a chat,” she wrote.
“I’m working late tonight and don’t drink. I would have rather had a booking but only have $75…. I’ll just have to wait… maybe I just look up your (web)site for relief LOL,” he replied.
He went on to say: “I can’t wait to see, smell, taste & feel you”.
He agreed to meet her for “just a talk and coffee” and suggested coming to the patient’s home.
She said her flatmate was home and he agreed to pick her up and take her somewhere.
The mental health worker wanted a booking with the woman for sex when she asked to meet and talk about her personal struggles. Photo / Supplied
In her complaint she said the purpose of the meeting was “to hang out just as people as I wondered if I could talk to him because he’s aware of my past”.
She said the worker picked her up from her home and drove her to a secluded location.
She began to disclose her recent struggles and he said he “couldn’t help but take off his clinical hat” because he wanted to be intimate with her.
She said he stopped her talking, and began to touch her intimately and telling her he wanted to have sex.
“I said no because I wasn’t feeling well, I asked him to drop me off,” she said.
She said he “prayed” for her before she left the vehicle.
“I felt really sad that the one person I thought could help had made me feel cheap and stupid,” she said.
“My mental health spiralled and I just lost my shit.
“I couldn’t stop crying and felt so helpless I wanted to take my own life.”
After the woman asked for help the mental health worker agreed to pick her up. Photo / Supplied
She said there had been a couple of times she had “desperately needed” to readmit herself to the mental health ward but she was too scared in case she saw the worker.
“He said if he ever saw me in there he’d sneak into my room and f**k me,” she said in her complaint.
The patient told the Herald that she made the complaint after telling a friend about what had happened.
It was only then she realised that the worker’s behaviour was inappropriate.
“I realised he was wrong - I asked him for help and he turned around and that to me instead of giving me the mental health support that I wanted,” she said.
The patient said she was angry at the man and wanted him held accountable for his actions.
“I thought he was innocently expressing his sexuality - until I needed help and he didn’t care but pursued his own needs,” she said.
“I’d just be happy for him to be exposed and made an example of because the more I think of it the more I realise how f**ked up it was.
The woman felt angry when she realised how wrong the situation was. Photo / 123RF
She worried there would be others like her out there who may be in similar positions, which is why she reached out to the Herald.
The director of operations for the hospital and specialist services in the area where the patient lives acknowledged the complaint.
“Te Whatu Ora is extremely concerned about the complaint received and is taking it very seriously,” she said.
“Our usual complaints process is being followed and a full investigation will be undertaken.
“Until that investigation is complete it’s inappropriate for us to comment further.”
The patient said a Te Whatu Ora Health NZ representative had been in contact after she made the complaint, advising her the worker had been “stood down”.
