Mental health progress slow
The hospital mental health ward where two suspected suicides happened has made ‘‘insufficient progress’’ toward urgent improvements, angering the family of one of the victims.
Shaun Gray, 30, and Erica Hume, 21, died in Palmerston North Hospital’s mental health ward in 2014, and management have conceded the ward’s overhaul was not where it should be.
Erica Hume’s family say they are frustrated by more delays in making significant changes.
Hospital management defended the speed, saying it would rather go slow and do it properly.
Midcentral District Health Board mental health and addiction services director Christopher Nolan said it had made ‘‘insufficient progress’’ on its business case for ward 21.
At a public DHB meeting on Tuesday, Nolan acknowledged it was disappointing.
‘‘I’d like to put our hands up and just own that it has been insufficient.’’
He said the unit ‘‘really had hoped’’ to bring news of progress to the meeting, and the business case would be ready for the next.
Owen Hume told the Standard improving the ward was a ‘‘longterm battle’’ and he was disappointed at yet another delay.
‘‘In the big picture, it is lack of funding coming through from the Government.’’
He said the hospital’s promise
to do things slowly, but correctly, was a delay tactic.
Hume said they were up against a ‘‘hierarchy’’ of management and complained of politics slowing things down.
‘‘They’ve got a difficult job, but they get paid to do a difficult job.
‘‘Their job is to organise their hospital and to make sure they have got the resources.’’
Despite the delay, Hume said they would not stop fighting to make change.
Midcentral chief executive Kathryn Cook said the unit was ‘‘not where we want to be’’, but said that did not mean they had not been making progress.
‘‘Everybody in this room is working as hard and fast as they can, but we don’t want to rush into something where we don’t have the right resource supporting us.
‘‘We’ve got to make sure we have the right resource available to us so we can plan effectively to get the best possible outcome.
‘‘It might not be as speedily as some might want, but it is the right thing.’’
The hospital is working with consultants from Auckland and Brisbane to deal with the ward’s site and staff interaction.
Midcentral finance and corporate support general manager Neil Wanden said delays were caused by difficulties in ‘‘getting people in the same place at the same time’’.
Wanden said the ward made an immediate response to specific risks found after the deaths.
A ‘‘long list’’ of problems was identified in a report following the death of Erica Hume, he said.
He said it would be difficult to fully future proof the ward, but it could minimise risk.