Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Mental health workers at end of tether
PSA media release March 13, 2002
Mental health workers at end of
tether
Mental health workers in South Auckland are
desperate for a solution to an acute accommodation shortage
for patients, says Public Service Association national
secretary, Richard Wagstaff.
“Last weekend Middlemore Hospital’s Tiaho Mai mental health unit, which was built to accommodate 45 people, was busting at the seams with 52 patients, and still more waiting to be admitted. Patients are being forced to sleep on mattresses in doctors’ rooms and interview rooms, while two were locked in police cells until beds could be found for them.”
Richard Wagstaff says the overcrowding and stress on patients and staff is totally unacceptable, and that PSA members working in the mental health area want urgent action to address what they regard as a crisis.
“Under these conditions the safety of patients and staff is seriously at risk. Workers in the industry are extremely frustrated at the lack of attention to this issue which is now critical, and which is not just confined to South Auckland.”
Richard Wagstaff says the PSA will be investigating this matter further across the Auckland region. [ends]
ENDS
Gordon Campbell: On unemployment, Winston Peters’ low boiling point and music criticism
Labour Party: National Gaslights Women Fighting For Equal Pay
The Treasury: New Treasury Paper On The Productivity Slowdown
NZ Government: Government Recommits To Equal Pay
Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter: Deputy Mayor ‘disgusted’ By Response To Georgina Beyer Sculpture
Te Pāti Māori: Māori Unemployment Rate Increases By More Than Four-Times National Rates
Government: Streamlining Building Consent Changes
