Racism claim over contract move

Pacificare Centre and Hospital in Mangere. Photo / Kellie Blizard

Health officials are being accused of racism for deciding to transfer a mental health contract for Pacific people from Mangere's bankrupt Pacificare Trust to a mainstream agency.

Manukau Urban Maori Authority chief executive Willie Jackson and Waipareira Trust head John Tamihere say the Counties-Manukau District Health Board (DHB) treated their own bid to take over the contract with a "patronising, condescending and racist attitude".

The contract to serve 200 high-needs mental health clients, mostly of Pacific ethnicity, was transferred on February 1 to the Botany-based Challenge Trust, one of the country's biggest mental health agencies with more than 1500 clients in Auckland, Northland and Tauranga.

Pacificare Trust chairwoman Fialauia Toailoa-Amituanai said her group was also angry that the contract was sold to Challenge by the Guardian Trust, acting as mortgagee in possession of the former Pacificare rest home in Massey Rd, without any reference to the Pacificare board.

Guardian Trust later placed Pacificare in receivership on February 3. The 94 people who worked for Pacificare, including 25 mental health staff, have still not been paid for their last week's work or holiday entitlements because neither Guardian Trust nor anyone else will admit to being their employer.

Former staff resource administrator Rohini Chand said Challenge paid Guardian Trust $300,000 for the mental health contract.

The DHB gave Guardian Trust notice late last year that it had to close the Pacificare rest home from January 31 because of evidence of inadequate care including high rates of pressure sores and skin conditions, poor food and a lack of proper procedures for restraining elderly patients.

Mr Jackson lodged a bid last month to buy the business to preserve local jobs and beds for the home's 65 mainly Pacific residents.

But he said he was "thwarted" by the DHB's "predetermined agenda".

"They refused to talk to us. They said we had to go through Guardian."

But he said Guardian was willing to sell him only the rest home's chattels, for about $1 million, without any guarantee the DHB would assign the aged care contract to him.

He then decided to bid for Pacificare's mental health contract instead - a separate contract dating from the foundation of the Pacificare Trust in 1993, well before Pacificare took over the former Culverden rest home after an earlier Health Ministry order to close it in 2006.

He brought in Waipareira because it has an existing health agency in Waitakere.

"There would have been a transition from Waipareira to MUMA [Manukau Urban Maori Authority] and a Pacific provider over 30 months," he said.

Mr Jackson said his proposal was "probably not up to scratch" because he had only a few days to prepare it, but he felt DHB service integration director Sam Cliffe should have given him time to flesh it out.

"They should have looked at what we were proposing over the next two years, not just a one-page proposal that Sam and her staff could rip apart."

But DHB chairman Professor Gregor Coster said he utterly rebutted Mr Jackson's accusations.

"Despite very clear outlines of expectations, and a request by the DHB for further information, the proposal we received from MUMA/Waipareira was particularly deficient in some fundamental areas," he said.

"This included details on how the service would be delivered in a culturally appropriate way to Pacific peoples and how the actual service would be implemented before Guardian's required start date of February 1."

He said Challenge Trust "went through the same sale and purchase discussion with Guardian Trust and was treated exactly the same way by the DHB".

Troubled rest home

1981: Former Methodist minister Ian Anderson and wife Norma opened 15-bed Culverden rest home.
2000: $9 million hospital opened, bringing total beds to 146.
2003: Andersons retired to Orewa but still own Culverden site and adjoining properties.
2006: Health Ministry issued closure notice due to poor patient care; business saved by Pacificare Trust with mortgage from Andersons through Guardian Trust.
2007: Guardian Trust took over as mortgagee after Pacificare default due to health board halt in patient referrals.
2008: Guardian Trust brought in Destiny Church executive George Ngatai as consultant manager until mid-2009.
2009: Health board issues closure notice due to ongoing poor patient care.
2010: Rest home closed January 31; mental health contract passed to Challenge Trust.