I know I’ve said it before, but the issue of our failed mental health system IS very definitely becoming an election issue, despite the best intentions of Health Minister Coleman who, in an attempt to prove he’s pulled his head out of the sand or wherever else it was stuck, has put out more media releases announcing minor dollops of dough to mental health in the last 4 months than I’ve had hot breakfasts.
Supreme Court decision supporting Waitemata DHB ban on smoking areas in ‘secure’ mental health units called “stupid” by father of Waikato DHB patient whose death arose from the policy
These answers will not be found by Coleman and a bunch of time-serving, hui-hopping bureaucrats sitting on their chuffs in Wellington. The community must continue to pile pressure on them and their paymasters until the issues start getting seriously addressed.
A leading suicide prevention campaigner published a social media post on the weekend asking why the Southern District Health Board had yet to apologise to her family over the poor care for her son, who was a victim of suicide 4 years ago.
My son Nicky, 21, died as a direct result of being sent off the Waikato Hospital campus, unescorted, while a known suicide risk, to smoke; when there was (and is) a perfectly good safe outside courtyard area that he could have been in.
Here are 13 reasons why NZ needs an independent Mental Health Review…
The only problem was, the Government didn’t like even the idea of a target they could actually be held to. Accountability is a concept for others, not them, so they had that removed, and other offending words sanitised, so it read like a pile of “PC waffle”, according to Panel member Mike King, who promptly up and resigned in protest.
Mother’s day has become a day of anguish for our family since our son Nicky Stevens died while in the legal care of the Waikato DHB. This last week has been particularly difficult as we have had to witness the death of another young person in similar circumstances to our son. Our Mental Health system is failing too many of our young people.
Dear Minister – you will be aware of the recent death of a young Palmerston North woman who was given leave from that Hospital’s Mental Health Unit to ‘go outside for a smoke’, due to the policy of all DHB’s to ban smoking on their precincts, no matter what the circumstances.
The family of Nicky Stevens believe deceased Palmerston North Hospital mental health unit patient Chelsea Brunton would almost certainly be…