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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-05-17 Daily Xml
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Question Time

Oakden Mental Health Facility

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Ridgway.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Will the honourable Leader of the Government please desist and allow the honourable Leader of the Opposition to ask questions.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): Too many red frogs in the bar, Mr President, that's their problem. I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Police questions about the Oakden Mental Health Facility.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Last Thursday, in the House of Assembly, the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse confirmed that three cases from the Oakden Mental Health Facility had been referred to SAPOL. The minister advised the members of the House of Assembly that those questions were a matter for the Minister for Police.

Yesterday, the minister advised the house that a further case had been referred to the police, and then, sadly, earlier today, minister Vlahos issued a press release confirming that a fifth incident of unnecessary force had been referred to SAPOL and that that staff member had been stood down. My questions to the minister are:

1. Can the minister provide an update to the council on all five investigations?

2. Can the minister confirm that these investigations relate to possible charges under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act or other legislation, such as the Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:20): I thank the honourable member for his important questions on an obviously important subject. I am in a position to be able to provide some advice to the council. On 10 April, the Chief Psychiatrist delivered the review of the Oakden Older Persons Mental Health Service. The report identified, at that point, three incidents that the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network had reported to SAPOL.

SAPOL confirms that the three matters were reported to police. The first of these three resulted in an aggravated assault charge, which occurred in May 2016. The matter was not progressed due to no reasonable prospect of conviction, as determined by SAPOL's prosecutions unit. The second was reported to the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network in February of this year; however, it was determined that the matter did not amount to a criminal incident. The third matter related to the abuse and threatening phone calls against the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network and the Oakden review was again referred to SAPOL on 28 April 2017.

Upon receipt, SAPOL reviewed the Older Persons Mental Health Service at Oakden campus with the purpose of making recommendations about the management, culture and standards of care. SAPOL has reviewed Dr Groves' report and searched SAPOL systems for offences associated with the facility for the previous 10 years. SAPOL has reviewed these offences and is satisfied that the matters that were reported to police have been appropriately investigated, or are still undergoing investigation.

SAPOL identified five anecdotal incidents in the report which may suggest criminal behaviour. Senior SAPOL officers will meet with Dr Groves in due course. The purpose of this meeting is to identify any evidence that may exist that isn't within the report. The investigations, including the one detailed in minister Vlahos's ministerial statement, are still ongoing and I expect, in due course, I will receive a brief regarding the incident outlined in minister Vlahos's statement that has just been tabled.

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