Mental health unit forced to house patient in motel

Overcrowding at Wellington Hospital's mental health unit forced a patient to be housed in a motel to make room for a mentally disturbed deaf man arrested after he walked down a busy Wellington street brandishing hunting knives.

The man, in his 30s, was carrying two knives when arrested in the Newtown Mall last week after allegedly threatening a shop assistant.

Police were called after earlier reports that the man had been walking down Riddiford St brandishing the knives.

The man was taken to Wellington central police station where he was assessed by mental health specialists, who decided he needed to be placed in protective custody.

But all 29 beds at Wellington Hospital's mental health unit for patients needing emergency care were full. Police then tried to get the man admitted to psychiatric units in Palmerston North, Hawkes Bay and Waikato hospitals, but they were also full.

Several hours after he was arrested, the man was admitted to the Wellington Hospital unit, but not before a psychiatric patient had to be placed in a motel overnight to make room for him.

A Capital and Coast District Health Board spokeswoman said the patient who was shifted had been assessed on Thursday as ready for discharge.

There was not considered to be any risk in moving the patient from the unit for one night to make room for the emergency patient and the patient's unsupervised stay in the motel was "without incident".

A recent independent review raised concerns about "serious overcrowding" in the Wellington Hospital's mental health unit.

* Police said the man arrested after brandishing knives would not be charged.

- NZPA