Political heat turned up on Wakari Hospital

Accusations of stalling and a lack of action by the governing health body on a troubled ward at a Dunedin mental health facility have been made as the political heat goes on.

Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) admitted patient treatment was one of the reasons it had decided to move patients out of Wakari Hospital’s Ward 10a and pause a planned upgrade.

• Under-fire Wakari staff hit back at claims

HNZ’s concerns included restrictive practices, prolonged seclusion, a lack of rehabilitation opportunities and aspects of care delivery.

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey has fired a shot at Labour and HNZ for their apparent inaction on the ward, pointing to multiple official reports during the 2019-22 period.

‘‘It is disappointing that despite reviews and reports in 2019 and 2021, including an inspection in May 2021, these issues haven’t already been addressed by Health New Zealand and the previous Labour government.

‘‘As far back as 2019, a review found the facility design and condition created safety risks for patients and staff and reported high rates of incidents and staff injuries in Ward 10a.’’

A spokeswoman for Mr Doocey then referred the Otago Daily Times to then-ombudsman Peter Boshier’s report in 2022, which flagged several concerns about the ‘‘volatile environment’’ of Ward 10a, and included examples of mistreatment of some patients.

‘‘As Minister Doocey’s statement pointed to yesterday, this never should’ve taken so long to be addressed by the Labour government and HNZ,’’ the spokeswoman said.

HNZ was asked for comment yesterday in response to Mr Doocey’s remarks, but declined.

It also has not released the costs of the ward upgrades, citing ‘‘commercial sensitivity’’.

Mr Doocey said HNZ’s responses were up to them, but reiterated there had been a ‘‘lack of leadership under the previous government’’.

Taieri MP Ingrid Leary urged a halt to ‘‘political point-scoring’’.

‘‘Systemic issues, by their nature, develop over many years or even decades, as appears to have been the case with Ward 10a.

‘‘That does not remove the minister’s responsibility to be transparent about what is happening now.’’

Ms Leary said the public deserved answers about what was being done to safeguard patients who had been moved from Ward 10a, and those who would have been referred there had the ward not closed so suddenly.

‘‘I have consistently called for transparency, including clear assurances that patients have not been inappropriately transferred to Corrections facilities.

‘‘That would be unsafe in many cases and would not provide the highly specialised level of care that Ward 10a was designed to deliver.

‘‘This should not be about political point-scoring.

‘‘It should be about transparency, accountability and giving patients, families, staff and the public timely information and confidence that appropriate care is being provided - and that there is a clear plan ahead. To date, none of that has been forthcoming.’’

Ward 10a is a 12-bed unit that supports people over the age of 18 who have an intellectual disability and require assessment, care and treatment in a secure hospital environment.