When you get assaulted, and the crime is reported to the police, you expect them to investigate it. But apparently not if you are a psychiatric patient. Last month, three staff at the Haumietiketike secure unit in Porirua Hospital were sacked for assaulting patients in their care. The assaults were reported to the police, but rather than mounting a swift investigation, they stood back and waited while Capital and Coast DHB mounted its own internal inquiry.
This is discriminatory and it is wrong. Those undergoing treatment for mental health problems are still people, and they are still entitled to the full protection of the law. As lawyer Michael Bott points out, if this happened in New World, we would expect the police to investigate immediately - not wait around for the supermarket owner to conduct their own internal inquiry. We should expect no less when it comes to our psychiatric hospitals.
One could make a similar point about serious assaults that happen to happen on school premises. Its common to use the word 'bullying' as a euphamism to describe such assaults.
ReplyDelete