The Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre at Waikato Hospital was severely overcrowded and patients received degrading care, the Ombudsman said. Photo / Derek Flynn
The Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre at Waikato Hospital was severely overcrowded and patients received degrading care, the Ombudsman said. Photo / Derek Flynn
Waikato District Health Board has announced a review of its mental health services following a damning report by the Ombudsman which found patients were being subjected to degrading, inhumane care.
Writing in an online update, board chief executive Dr Kevin Snee said the DHB would undertake a "system-wide mental health review" to ensure appropriate resources and services are available.
"It is expected the review oversight team will include a range of expertise and experience including clinical practitioners, Māori health [specialising in mental health], current service users and whānau, and service management," Snee wrote.
However the mother of Nicky Stevens, who died while in the care of the DHB's Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre (HRBC) in 2015, said the review needed to be driven externally.
Jane Stevens, together with three other families, wrote to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Health David Clark in late February, calling for an urgent external investigation into the DHB's mental health services following a pattern of deaths associated with the HRBC.
A roll call of shame exposed by the Herald showed 18 incidents including escapes, suicides and murders, spanning two decades involving Waikato DHB mental health patients.
The revelation came two days before chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier released a scathing report into the DHB's care of patients in the centre, following unannounced inspections last year.
Boshier found severe overcrowding, the use of restraints and extensive seclusion - one patient was secluded for 16 weeks - contravened the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Jane Stevens wants an external investigation into Waikato DHB's mental health services and says an internal review won't fix the issues. Photo / Alan Gibson
"It can't be yet another internal review," Stevens said. "Because that's not going to make the difference, at all.
"They still haven't accepted the depth of the problem and still keep externalising it, let alone be prepared to do what's actually needed, and has been called for by families and by the Ombudsman."
In the update, Snee said Waikato DHB mental health and addictions services provided acute and community-based care for up to 5000 people each day.
"The growing need in our community has put pressure on our services. Adding to this is the rise in patients with severe and complex needs and of methamphetamine and other synthetic substance abuse," he wrote.
"There has been considerable media interest and recently a campaign with the NZ Herald raising concerns over patients who have died while receiving care for severe mental illness."
Snee said every death was tragic, had long-lasting impact on family and friends, and was distressing for mental health staff.
"A sad reality of severe mental illness is that, as with other serious illness, it can lead to a tragic outcome and the problems that we have in Waikato are shared with other mental health organisations in New Zealand."
He said the DHB's acute service was working under "considerable pressure".
"The Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre has often been faced with demand which exceeds capacity. As our staff will never turn away someone with acute severe need, they have been forced to find ways to accommodate people."
