A company accused of telling its staff they had to masturbate intellectually impaired clients has suspended training pending the outcome of an inquiry.
But the inquiry the company promised has not yet started and is unlikely to take place until after Labour Weekend.
The allegations surfaced this week when six workers, employed by a company contracted by the Ministry of Health to provide disability support services to about 45 people in the Nelson region, claimed they were ordered to help intellectually impaired people in their care to masturbate.
The company which employed the six women, New Zealand Care, denied the claims but confirmed it was investigating them.
New Zealand Care spokeswoman Veronica Challies told the Nelson Mail the investigation the company had promised would not start until after Labour Weekend, pending the Ministry of Health's involvement.
She would not reveal further details of the planned investigation.
Ministry chief public health adviser Ashley Bloomfield said the allegations were being taken very seriously by the ministry, which would be working with NZ Care to look into the claims and taking any appropriate action.
Although it will investigate the allegations, NZ Care has said there is no way the allegations are correct. NZ Care had told the ministry that the issue arose from a misunderstanding by the women concerned, Dr Bloomfield said.
Training would not be resumed until the issues had been resolved, he said.
Yesterday Independent Nursing Practice director Annette Milligan said it was not uncommon for families to employ sex workers to satisfy the sexual urges of intellectually impaired people,
Ms Milligan said intellectually impaired people ran a huge risk of falling prey to sexual predators -- a problem compounded by how difficult they were to educate about sex.
