Insane killers: The devastating fallout from untreated psychosis
Around one-in-ten homicides are carried out by someone suffering from a treatable psychotic disorder. Experts say that’s unacceptable. Mava Moayyed and Kim Peacock spoke to families who have suffered as a result of the lack of treatment available.
More than 20,000 people in New Zealand are suffering from a psychotic disorder right now. The vast majority are never violent, in fact, they’re far more likely to be the victims of violence.
But a small group with key risk factors – including those with a history of violence and drug and alcohol use – can suffer extreme delusions, causing them to do the unthinkable to innocent people.
Between five and seven New Zealanders are killed each year by someone suffering from a treatable psychotic disorder.
Senior forensic psychiatrist Erik Monasterio told Sunday that at-risk sufferers are increasingly missing out on psychiatric care due to under funding, a lack of resources, and disorganisation in mental health services across the country.
“The very group who present the highest risks are not receiving adequate long-term treatments. My concern is that if the chaos continues, we will see more and more adverse incidents occurring,” Monasterio said.
He said it’s only become worse since the 2019 Mental Health Inquiry and psychiatric staff are leaving public service in high numbers, at a time when they are most needed.
“It is very sad for me to observe this decay in the availability of services. Remember that you can judge any society by the way it treats its most vulnerable and that is a question that New Zealand may want to ask itself at the moment.”
There is not a Kiwi alive who can be surprised that 1 in 10 homicides are committed by someone with a treatable psychotic disorder.
You know why!
We have utterly underfunded mental health, dumped these dangerous individuals onto their exhausted families with little to no resource and called that ‘Community Care’.
We point blank refuse to tax the rich to properly fund our social infrastructure and the mentally ill are the lowest rung on the lowest health ladder.
If we wanted to prevent this, we could by taxing the rich to properly fund mental health, but we choose not to because 1 in 10 murders committed by someone suffering from a treatable psychotic disorder is a perfectly acceptable price Kiwis are prepared to pay so they can fantasise about protecting future imaginary wealth from future top tax brackets they will never earn.
It is preferable for the majority of Kiwis to protect imaginary wealth from future top tax brackets than treat mental health properly to lower murder rates.
That’s who we is now. That’s what we are.
Old Zealand beats New Zealand.
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So Nationals tax cuts coupled with public sector spending cuts probably won’t improve this situation.
Peter “ So National’s tax cuts… won’t improve this situation”. Precisely. And with slippery Bill English, the would-be architect of a user-pays privatised health service in there advising them, the outlook is very grim for health challenged people.
The elephant is likely larger than most think. 1.9 billion a drop in the ocean – although I can see where you’re coming from, funding misdirected and misspent. Let’s see if the new coalition can do any better.
The mentally ill need to be taken out of self care in the community and back to supervised institutional care until there is adequate wrap around services to prevent them from going postal.
Again with the kindness model not being fit for purpose.
… and the Dept of Mental Health are also quietly disposing of their bodies WITHOUT notifying family nor asking families wishes. They have the coroner release the body right back to them and take over from there. My personal experience this year, with my sister. DESPICABLE.
The real estate pimps can pay more tax on each house they sell. The goes directly into a mental health fund for buyers. That people can apply for grants into.
If you tax more, Wellington will just hire more comms staff with the money and not do anything.
james. How right you are. And the politicians will bleat about addressing health issues, when the bottom line is they are ratbags, all of them, accepting that people live in ongoing physical and mental pain, and terrible things happening to others because of this, right here in New Zealand – oops Aotearoa, New Zealand. It’s a leadership issue, just like Oranga Tamariki, and the failing deviant Education System, and Health and Safety, with moral fibre, integrity, responsibility, accountability, all conspicuously absent. One good person could make a difference, but that’s not on the horizon either.
Now ask yourself.. was Jacinda actually a National plant? There is no way she would have been so cruel for no reason… what did they promise her?
Brilliant Tinker and I suspect you believe Luxon will ride in on his white horse and rid us of mental illness once and for all!
Remind me again why 1.9 billion was required again if Nationals previous 9 years in power was such a success for mental health?
Tinker Jacinda plays according to the WEF handbook.Their mission statement provided her glossary.
It has been this way since the introduction of neo-liberal policies in 1984. Most NZers aren’t old enough to know anything other than what we have now. They need to know.
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