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UPDATE 5pm: MEMBER for Bendigo West Maree Edwards has joined the row over an Ombudsman’s report”, which condemned Bendigo Health for poor-record keeping in its psychiatric ward.
Ms Edwards said the report, tabled in State Parliament on Wednesday, highlighted the systematic, on-going problems in mental health in Bendigo.
The investigation by the Ombudsman occurred after concerns raised by community visitors about the facility and alleged excessive force used on five patients.
Ms Edwards said the Ombudsman’s damning finding that Bendigo Health did not keep proper records over alleged patient abuse in their care showed a lack of regard for the mentally ill.
“There is no doubt that our mental health system is in crisis following unprecedented cuts to the Health budget of $831 million by the Napthine Liberal government”, she said.
“These cuts have resulted in staffing decreases, putting pressure on hardworking mental health staff to do more with less”
“The report highlights that staff cannot meet the demands being placed on them by a system that is under pressure”.
“Failure by Bendigo Health to provide adequate training for staff, the failure to maintain records, the failure to provide incident reports and the failure to provide treatment plans are all evidence that these health cuts are having an impact.
EARLIER: BENDIGO Health chief executive officer John Mulder has responded to claims of poor-record keeping in its psychiatric ward
Mr Mulder said he wanted to assure the community that all criticisms made by the Ombudsman had been taken on board.
He said Bendigo Health management had read the Ombudsman’s report and already taken actions to address the recommendation.
This included the introducing random audits of treatment plans.
Mr Mulder stressed there was no evidence to substantiate claims of excessive force being used on patients, as reported to the Ombudsman.
The chief executive’s full statement follows.
I want to assure our community that all the criticisms made by the ombudsman in the report have been taken on board. We do not take these matters lightly.
I want to make it clear that the failings of our service were system failures not individual ones and the Ombudsman herself has said these are systemic issues and that her recommendations apply to all mental health facilities.
We have carefully read the report and have already taken actions to address the recommendations. This includes the introduction of random audits of treatment plans.
On the issue of the provision of incident reports to community visitors; currently there is no consistent approach taken by health services throughout the State regarding the provision of information to community visitors. We are currently in discussions with the Public Advocate with a view to clarifying this and to receive advice on what documentation should be supplied. The current incident reporting system is also a significant impediment to effective reporting of these incidents in Victoria and this was recently recognised by the Auditor General and is currently being reviewed by the Victorian Government.
Some of the allegations made in the report are up to two years old and our service has made significant improvements since then, in both our systems and the physical environment of our facility. Current comparisons reveal that the Alexander Bayne Centre is one of the lowest users of restraint in the Victorian mental health system.
Regarding the allegations of excessive force being used on patients, we advised the ombudsman that there is no evidence to substantiate these claims.
One of the reasons people end up in an acute psychiatric facility is because they are disturbed and often our patients are affected by illicit drugs; in some circumstances the only way to protect them and the other people around them, is to physically restrain them. No one wants to see anyone hurt during a psychotic episode and we have put a huge effort into minimising the need for restraint as evidenced by recent comparisons with other services.
Bendigo Health has a culture of continuous improvement and we are disappointed that some of our systems let down our staff and patients. However, these have now been rectified.
This service underwent Accreditation in August and the verbal advice we received was very positive, with some areas of our service being described as ‘exemplar’. This provides me with confidence that we are on the right path.
The review into our service placed additional pressure on our staff. It is important that our community understands these staff work under often challenging conditions with patients who are acutely unwell and often present in an agitated and very aggressive state due linked to consumption of illegal drugs such as ICE. It is well documented that patients using the drug ICE can be unpredictable and dangerous to themselves and others.
Our staff do an outstanding job on a day to day basis in a stressful and demanding environment that most people in our community could never manage. We are very grateful for the work they do and they have our full support.
At Bendigo Health we are all looking forward to the completion of our new hospital in 2016 which will give our patients and staff world class purpose built facilities, designed in consultation with former patients and families as well as our staff.
John Mulder,
CEO, Bendigo Health