Brian DixonPatients and staff deserve better facilities than those available at Wakari Hospital, mental health sector workers say. Dunedin psychologist Brian Dixon, the New Zealand Psychological Society scientific issues director, said some facilities at Wakari were ''not optimum for enhancing clinical wellbeing.'' If people needed to be in a mental health hospital facility, they should have the best facilities possible available to them, he said. ''We do require better working conditions for staff, and we need to meet the basic needs of clients.'' The Sapere report said not-fit-for-purpose facilities at Wakari had significant negative flow-on effects to the standard of care provided.

Source: Otago Daily Times October 01, 2019 15:33 UTC