Mental health staff say police refused to help with violent patient

Staff at a mental health facility in Wellington say police officers stood by while a violent patient tried to break down a door and threatened to hurt them.

They say a small team of staff twice took turns holding the door to the man's room shut, once for more than an hour, and when police arrived they refused to intervene.

Te Whatu Ora and NZ Police are reviewing the incident, with the latter saying they would not comment on claims the officers wouldn't step in while the review is underway.

Health NZ confirmed in a statement that an incident took place on 30 May at the Te Whare Ahuru Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit at Hutt Hospital.

"A distressed patient acted violently towards staff and caused property damage," said Health NZ central mental health and addiction regional director Paul Oxnam.

No staff were injured and the patient was transferred to a forensic unit in Porirua, which was "more secure".

Unit staff said the room the patient was put in at Te Whare Ahuru was not meant to be used for seclusion, but was "the only safe option at the time".

"On Friday he was smashing the door so hard the framing started to split," staff said. "We called 111 for police assistance and multiple staff held the door in place for over an hour while we waited for police to respond."

But they say when police finally did arrive, they refused to intervene.

Staff managed to get the patient into a designated seclusion room, which he slept in overnight, but the following morning he began banging on the door again.

It took four staff at a time to brace the door, but by about 11am, the patient had managed to break the lock, staff said.

The police were called again, but again refused to step in. When they left the second time, they allegedly told staff not to call them again.

Then, when the Porirua facility accepted the patient, staff said the police refused to transport him. "He had to be sedated to be transported via ambulance."

Oxnam said the health agency was "continuing to support the patient and staff involved".

"This was a highly distressing event, and we want to thank the staff involved for their professionalism. An informal review was undertaken immediately and a formal staff debriefing followed on 8 June," Oxnam said.

He said a review involving police, Wellington Free Ambulance and Health NZ would be held to look at the systems in place at the time and provide recommendations for improvement.

The door that was damaged had been repaired, and all doors in the area had been checked.

Police have been gradually withdrawing from mental health callouts over the past few months - although the final stage was delayed in April, and police told RNZ this week they did not have an update.

However, Oxnam said it was "not accurate to say at this time that this incident was related to the Police Mental Health Change Programme".

Police, too, said it was unrelated to their phased withdrawal.

Wellington District Commander superintendent Penny Gifford told RNZ they responded to two callouts at the facility on 29 and 30 May, involving the same inpatient.

She said there were no injuries reported and no charges laid.

"Attending police staff worked with hospital staff to resolve the situation and support health staff who were managing a care plan for the individual who was later transferred to another health facility in Porirua," Gifford said.

"We acknowledge the stressful situation for those involved and we will now work with Wellington Free Ambulance and Health NZ to review the incidents and identify any improvements that can be made."