You would think it would be almost part of the job for a self-respecting DHB member to publicly speak out about high rates of suicide in their region. And you would expect fellow DHB members to join in and call for greater resources and attention to the issue in an area where suicides were twice the rate of road accident deaths?
But that wasn’t what West Coast DHB member Peter Neame experienced at the March meeting of his DHB.
Neame, a retired mental health nurse, is often outspoken on mental health and other issues. But when he attempted to raise concerns about a particular case at the DHB meeting, the Chair of the DHB took the meeting into closed session, and berated Neame for raising his concerns publicly. The Chair, Government appointee Jenny Black, and other members accused Neame of ‘grandstanding’, rather than agreeing to address the issue.
Prior to the DHB meeting, a mentally unwell person had arrived at Neame’s home; after Neame tried to contact acute mental health services at the Greymouth Hospital for two hours, he gave up and drove the unwell person into the Hospital himself. The person had actually seen the ‘crisis team’ the day before he arrived at Neame’s house.
Neame said “The man was a danger to himself, and I was at risk myself. He had a 30-year history in the mental health system, including previous suicide attempts. He needed an inpatient assessment to protect him, his family and the public.”
But the West Coast DHB wanted to attack the messenger, rather than addressing the issue of why their region is faring worst of all in the suicide statistics.
Neame has now returned the ‘favour’ to the DHB Chair by calling for her resignation.
Before you think that this is an isolated case, I’ll recount similar actions the Waikato DHB Chair is currently trying on me.
Last month Chair Bob Simcock wrote to me stating he had received various complaints about me via the DHB Chief Executive – apparently I had been saying less than complimentary things about some of the senior staff involved in handling my son’s death while a patient at Waikato Hospital’s Henry Bennett Centre. But also, and Simcock later produced an unsigned report by an unknown author, I had dared to criticise the DHB at a community meeting for discussing Waikato suicide statistics in closed session (spot the similarity here?), and worse, had allegedly gone on to talk about those very statistics!
The statistics in question show, for instance, that there is a marked difference between the age of most Maori men who suicide, as opposed to Pakeha men , something you would think was an important statistic to consider when sorting out practical suicide prevention strategies……
As the first step in my punishment for speaking out, I was ‘invited’ to attend a private meeting with Simcock and the Deputy Chair of the Waikato DHB, both Government appointees) to hear first hand what I was doing wrong, and where they would ‘help me’ work out less offensive ways to behave. I was also ‘offered’ the services of the DHB lawyer to help me behave. I accepted the Chair’s most kind offer, and told him I would bring a support person along to such a meeting, and would be happy to speak to an independent lawyer, as I felt the DHB lawyer (currently involved in our son’s Coroner’s hearing) was a little conflicted.
Irony aside, the Government-appointed DHB Chairs are put in place for a good reason – to keep the lid on public criticism of Government health policies, while maintaining the pretence that there is some democracy involved in running the DHBs. They have form in getting outspoken elected DHB members removed by the Government, and it will not be surprising if Peter Neame and myself, and other DHB members who dare to speak out, are ‘disciplined’.
It will be up to DHB members like us, and the many who voted for us, to show that DHBs have a more important role – identifying the key health issues in our regions, and campaigning for the changes, including extra resources, needed to deal with those issues.
Dave Macpherson is TDBs mental health blogger. His son died because of DHB incompetence, and David ran for and won a position on the Waikato DHB to keep them accountable.
“The Chair, Government appointee Jenny Black,………”
There’s the answer right there.
Yet another example of our corporatised ‘public’ service.
We really should be referring to them as “state servants”, just as Ralston used to refer to Public Television as “State TV”. (I’m not sure his ego and a lifetime of being within the celeb bubble allows him to see the difference – even though he still sucks on the public tit)
I know of so-called 3rd World democracies that are in better shape than ours
QUOTE: “As the first step in my punishment for speaking out, I was ‘invited’ to attend a private meeting with Simcock and the Deputy Chair of the Waikato DHB, both Government appointees) to hear first hand what I was doing wrong, and where they would ‘help me’ work out less offensive ways to behave. I was also ‘offered’ the services of the DHB lawyer to help me behave. I accepted the Chair’s most kind offer, and told him I would bring a support person along to such a meeting, and would be happy to speak to an independent lawyer, as I felt the DHB lawyer (currently involved in our son’s Coroner’s hearing) was a little conflicted.
Irony aside, the Government-appointed DHB Chairs are put in place for a good reason – to keep the lid on public criticism of Government health policies, while maintaining the pretence that there is some democracy involved in running the DHBs. They have form in getting outspoken elected DHB members removed by the Government, and it will not be surprising if Peter Neame and myself, and other DHB members who dare to speak out, are ‘disciplined’.”
Welcome to the ‘real world’ here in little New Zealand, Dave.
This is nothing new to many who have had issues with the health services before, a tight lid is kept upon sensitive matters, so that there is no ’embarrassment’ for the ones involved.
Even our ‘Health and Disability Commissioner’, a supposed “watchdog”, he is a legal expert, who has a “formidable” career background in the NZ health sector, having served for DHBs, the Ministry and so forth.
Mr Anthony Hill is running something that appears to be more of a ‘clearing house’, where most complaints get “dealt with” in a discretionary manner, often “needing no action”. Only the more severe cases, where it is difficult to find excuses, they get investigated formally. And then it is usually just a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket, like a recommendation to do some training, to express and “apology” of sorts, but nothing much else.
The law is so designed to give them all much protection, and re complaints very much ‘discretion’ to ‘resolve’ them, that is usually in a way that few will ever learn about, with nothing much being done.
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2015/10/04/how-the-n-z-health-and-disability-commissioner-let-off-a-biased-designated-doctor/
http://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/health-and-disability-commissioner-can-we-trust-in-hdc-independence/
https://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/independence-commissioner-paramount
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/how-the-hdc-throws-out-valid-complaints-and-protects-code-breaching-health-professionals-a-true-story/
Surely, the lid must be lifted some time soon, to expose the whole apologist BS that goes on in the mental health sector, yes in the whole health sector, it is fast becoming too bloody embarrassing.
http://www.hdc.org.nz/about-us/the-commissioner
NZ Doctor article excerpt:
https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/news/2010/may-2010/03/new-hdc-is-anthony-hill.aspx
(Google it if it does not show the article)
“Mr Hill has been deputy director-general sector accountability and funding for the past five-and-a-half years.
In the past he has worked as the ministry’s chief legal advisor and as acting deputy director-general DHB funding and performance directorate.
Started at ministry in 1995
He was employed in the ministry’s DHB establishment Support Unit in 2000, providing advice to providers having difficulty engaging with their boards, as new contracts were being put in place.
Mr Hill has a similar background to Mr Paterson, who also had a background in law, and had worked as a deputy director-general at the Ministry of Health, albeit briefly.
“This is an important role in the health service. The commissioner and his office deal with patients’ individual problems and concerns, as well as looking at the overall performance of key parts of the system,” Mr Ryall says in the release.”
If Jonathon Coleman,Jenny Black, Bob Simcock,the Deputy Chair of the Waikato DHB and Mr Anthony Hill had any social conscience, they would resign. However they like the Government tit and therefore follow the company line.
If they were to resign, the DHB could well have enough to fund mental health
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