Ministry meeting care provider weekly after complaints

The Health Ministry is meeting disabled care provider Focus 2000 weekly as it tries to get to the bottom of complaints about the organisation, says Health Minister Pete Hodgson.

Last month, Mr Hodgson ordered a review of Focus 2000 after allegations of unsafe conditions and medical mistreatment in its residential homes.

Focus 2000 is the business arm of the Cerebral Palsy Society, one of Auckland's largest disabled care providers.

It has been revealed it was forced to repay some of the money it received from the ministry to run its services after financial audits from 2004.

Those audits also contained allegations of unsafe conditions and medical mistreatment, and Mr Hodgson has previously told Parliament "new information" has come to light.

He has said the reviews would examine the organisation's business and management systems.

There would also be financial and quality audits, meaning all the issues raised about Focus 2000 would be urgently investigated.

Mr Hodgson was questioned again yesterday in Parliament by National MP Paul Hutchison about Focus 2000.

Dr Hutchison accused the minister of failing to prevent ongoing incidents of abuse, maltreatment and neglect under state disability providers.

Dr Hutchison said he had only this week heard of allegations of a caregiver regularly punishing a blind, autistic, intellectually disabled man by giving him cold showers whenever he smeared himself with faeces.

Mr Hodgson told the MP he should refer any complaints to him.

- NZPA