The 11-year-old girl was misidentified by police before being handcuffed and injected with antipsychotic drugs.
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says correct procedures were not followed when an 11-year-old girl was mistakenly detained and given antipsychotic medication.
A carer for mental health patient in her early 20s was shown the 11yo’s photograph and mistook her for their patient.
Health New Zealand and Waikato Police are conducting reviews, with apologies issued for the incident.
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says the correct identification procedure was not followed when an 11-year-old girl was detained by police and given antipsychotic drugs in a case of mistaken identity.
“It does defy belief... I still don’t understand how an 11-year-old has been confused for a lady in her 20s.
“I think it’s hugely concerning; quite frankly, it might be unprecedented.”
A number of reviews are under way including into how a child found climbing on a Hamilton bridge early in the morning was identified by police as a missing patient in her early 20s and administered two doses of antipsychotic drugs at a Waikato mental health facility.
Doocey expected the review into the incident to not only hold people involved accountable, but also the system.
“Clearly the identification of unidentified people procedure within Health NZ hasn’t been followed correctly,” he said.
“We need to understand how that failed.”
A carer for a 21-year-old mental health patient who was shown the photograph sent by police then mistook it for their patient, leading to the younger girl being given medication.
Doocey confirmed the girl was administered two doses of antipsychotic medication “over the course of the day”.
Police were called to Fairfield Bridge about 6.40am on March 9, after a person described as a female in her 20s was seen walking in distress.
Acting Waikato district commander Superintendent Scott Gemmell told the Herald the 111 caller reported that the woman appeared to be intoxicated and that city cameras captured her climbing up the rails of the bridge.
Gemmell said police units, including a police boat, responded immediately, fearing for her safety.
Police were called to the Fairfield Bridge in Hamilton on Sunday, March 9, after a person described as a female in her 20s was seen climbing on to the railings. Photo / NZME
“She was repeating the questions that the officers had asked her. They weren’t able to form an identification of her at that point, but she looked by virtue of the wider circumstances of someone that needed care and it progressed from there.”
The Herald understands the girl is autistic and non-verbal.
Police were concerned she was suffering from a mental health episode and took her to Waikato Hospital’s Henry Bennett Centre for assessment where she was handcuffed and later understood to have been injected with two doses of haloperidol, an antipsychotic medicine.
When police arrived at the hospital with the young girl, Gemmell said officers took a picture of her and sought help trying to identify her via a distribution list of police staff.
“One [police staffer] came back thinking that it was another person,” Gemmell said. He said the staffer understood the last known location of the nominated person was in close proximity to the bridge.
“Our staff identified the name of the mental care provider and phoned through ... we then asked if we could send a photo through to ask do you think this is the person we’re talking about.”
Gemmell said the carer believed the missing woman in her 20s looked like the young girl, which was then relayed to Waikato Hospital.
The young girl, who the Herald understands is autistic, was administered by injection two doses of antipsychotic medication at Henry Bennett Centre at Waikato Hospital. Photo / Michael Craig
He said he’d viewed images of the woman and the girl with “critical eyes” and said further corroboration was needed.
The pair shared similar hair and similar complexion, Gemmell said: “I saw side profiles that could be similar, but yes ... it wouldn’t be enough to give a clear indication.”
About 6pm – some 12 hours after police responded to the bridge incident – a woman reported to police that her 11-year-old daughter was missing.
Deputy chief executive for Te Manawa Taki (Central North Island region) Cath Cronin said the review would be completed in a matter of days.
Asked why the issue wasn’t raised with the Government sooner, police said while they were aware of the misidentification, its ramifications were not apparent until the end of last week.
