RICKY WILSON/Stuff
A person was seriously injured in an incident at Buchanan Rehabilitation Centre, an Auckland district mental health facility, last week.
A person has been hospitalised with serious injuries after being assaulted at a mental health facility.
The attack occurred at Buchanan Rehabilitation Centre in Auckland’s Pt Chevalier in the evening of September 28.
Stuff understands the person charged with the assault was living at the facility.
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Dr Mike Shepherd, the interim district director for Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai Auckland, confirmed a person was injured in an incident at the mental health service site.
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They were taken to Auckland City Hospital and discharged a “few days later”, Shepherd said.
RICKY WILSON/Stuff
Interim district director Dr Mike Shepherd confirmed the incident had taken place and that the victim was hospitalised for a “few days”. (File photo)
A “full review” was being carried out to understand what happened, he said.
“Our priorities have been to support the individual and their whānau, support our wider team who have been impacted by this incident, and to continue delivering the health care our community needs.”
The health district would not confirm whether the person charged was a patient of the service, “as the matter is before the courts”.
Buchanan Rehabilitation Centre is a specialist 40-bed inpatient mental health service for people aged 18-65. The majority of clients are aged between 20 and 30.
STUFF
Speaking in Christchurch, Health Minister Andrew Little said the Budget included a $100m investment in mental health over four years. (Frist published May 17, 2022)
The Healthpoint website said Buchanan Rehabilitation Centre was suitable for people with “active mental health symptoms and disabilities who have the potential to benefit from intensive rehabilitation”.
The average length of stay was a year, but this varied depending on individual circumstances, the website said.
As the centre focuses on recovery and rehabilitation, those living at the facility are able to come and go from the site and move around without restriction. There are staff onsite 24 hours a day, working in shifts, to support service users, a health district spokesperson said.
A police spokesperson confirmed they responded to “reports of an assault” on Sutherland Road shortly before 6.40pm last Wednesday evening.
The victim was taken to hospital in a serious condition, a St John Ambulance spokesperson said.
The person believed to be responsible fled the scene on foot, but was found by police and taken into custody shortly after, police said.
Court documents seen by Stuff showed a person had been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Police confirmed the person would appear in court later in the month, and no-one else was being sought in relation to the incident.
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