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Unfair & Unlawful treatment of Mental Health Patients in NZ |
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DETAINEES TREATED INADEQUATELY IN NEW ZEALAND - REPORT
Wellington, Dec 18 NZPA - Many people detained in New Zealand are being treated inadequately, a report by the Human Rights Commission says.
The report released today compiled assessments by New Zealand's national monitoring bodies of facilities where people were detained, including as prisons, mental health facilities, homes for children, police cells, military detention and immigration centres, from July 2008- June 2009.
It said people were still being unlawfully detained under mental health legislation, there was a lack of access to mental health services, people were being held in isolation and restraint for extended periods and there was a lack of valid documentation for detention.
There were also gaps in policies and procedures and a lack of adherence to established ones.
These issues had particular significance in light of New Zealand's high detention rate, chief commissioner Rosslyn Noonan said.
Prisoner numbers had risen in the last year and the need for greater availability of mental health services for prisoners was of "particular concern", she said.
"While the agencies and institutions themselves have little control over the numbers of detainees, they must ensure that responses to capacity issues are conducive to respect for human rights and dignity, and that risks associated with overcrowding are carefully managed."
The Ombudsmen, who visited mental health sites, found two cases that caused much concern.
One mental health patient had been in virtually constant restraint and seclusion for nearly six years to prevent him or her from assaulting other people, and a young mentally disabled patient had been kept in seclusion for a lengthy period.
After contacting the district health boards (DHBs) concerned, one was moved to a more suitable facility and the other now had a management plan to move into a community-based facility.
Other patients were also being held in secure care longer than necessary because of a shortage of suitable community-based accommodation, the Ombudsmen's chief inspector found.
There were also not enough beds to cater for the "ballooning" number of offenders with mental health problems.
Ms Noonan said the preventative monitoring system had had a positive impact in its second year of operation by highlighting problems which may have continued to go undetected.
The monitoring bodies had continued to focus on issues raised in last year's report including:
* the rights and needs of particular groups - including children and young people, asylum-seekers, Maori and people with mental health issues;
* staffing levels and training;
* conditions of detention and standard of facilities.
The monitoring bodies were the Ombudsmen, Children's Commissioner, Independent Police Conduct Authority, Inspector of Service Penal Establishments and the Human Rights Commission. They visited more than 500 places of detention where people were deprived of their liberty.
The system was implemented following New Zealand's ratification of the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture in 2007.
The monitoring bodies regularly visited detention facilities and worked with authorities to ensure facilities were safe and humane.
They aimed to identify and address inadequacies in conditions or treatment in order to prevent human rights violations.
NZPA WGT
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