The decision to close Western Australia’s sole female psychiatric unit has been criticised by an independent body, which says the safety of patients had been compromised.
Last year, the State Government turned the 14-bed female-only Dorrington ward at Graylands into a mixed unit.
The Council of Official Visitor’s annual report, tabled in Parliament this week, stated many women with mental illness have a history of sexual abuse and sharing a ward with men can “further traumatise” them.
“The issue for women who have suffered sexual trauma is that having to share a ward with men can impede their recovery, or worse,” it found.
The report also found there had been at least two sexual encounters between involuntary patients this year and noted on one occasion a female patient alleged she was sexually abused by a male patient on her ward.
It said there were “serious risks” for both the men and women on shared wards, particularly when a woman may not be able to legally consent to sexual activity.
“Given that patients are detained on a locked ward for their own protection, locking people up on a mixed ward in such circumstances would seem to defeat the purpose of the detention,” it noted.
The council stated older women and women from different cultures also found the experience of a mixed ward upsetting.
One woman complained to the council that a male patient had urinated on the floor near her and said she was forced to watch another man naked.
She said it was “very distressing” for another female patient, who needed to be calmed down.
Patients are being put at risk, says Opposition
Labor’s mental health spokesman, Stephen Dawson, said patients were clearly being put at risk.
“In some cases they are more vulnerable, depending on their illness, and really for those patients we should be keeping them safe,” he said.
“The Government must ensure there’s a female-only ward opened in this state.
“When you hear these stories floating around about women in those facilities being abused, I really think there is a need for those beds, there really is a need for those wards again.”
However Mental Health Minister Helen Morton said it was not feasible for the state to have gender-specific units for either women or men.
“The approach that we’ve adopted is very much about having a particular holistic unit which can accommodate men and women,” she said.
“And that we will ensure that we will put in place the appropriate risk management through good assessment, good clinical planning and the appropriate protocols that are provided for men or women when they’re on the ward.
“Having a female-only ward would not stop potential for abuse between patients and having a male-only ward would not stop potential for abuse between patients.”
Ms Morton said while reports of sexual abuse in wards were concerning, there were a set of stringent protocols in place to deal with any complaints.
“It comes back to making sure we have the issues around vulnerability and understanding the particular concerns that female patients might have at the time they’re first admitted through that assessment process,” she said.
“And putting in place the care plans and risk management and supervision that’s necessary for those patients.”