The parents of a teenage girl allegedly raped in Perth Children’s Hospital last year have slammed the state government’s response to the revelation, strongly disputing a claim by the WA health minister they were given multiple opportunities to meet a health service executive.
Warning: This story contains details of sexual assault
“I feel like I’m being gaslit here,” the girl’s mother told ABC Investigations.
She described the health minister’s claim as “utter bullshit”.
The parents were responding to a press conference called by Western Australia’s Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson in response to an ABC Investigations report revealing the alleged rape.
Asked if she had met with the family, Ms Sanderson said she had not, but that the chief executive of the Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS) had “made numerous attempts to speak to the family”.
“Now, very understandably, I think the family has not wanted to speak to the hospital … many times,” Ms Sanderson said.
However, the girl’s mother disputed that.
“When the health minister says we were offered multiple meetings with the CEO [at Child and Adolescent Health Services] and the hospital, and that we declined, that is utterly incorrect,” the mother said.
“We had one meeting while our daughter was still in the ward and met with the CEO and the psychiatrist where the CEO offered his deepest apologies. And that was the last contact we had from the CEO.”
Ms Sanderson was approached for comment.
ABC Investigations on Tuesday revealed the girl had allegedly been raped by a male patient in the mental health ward of the hospital in January last year.
The girl, who the ABC is calling Florence because her real name cannot be revealed for legal reasons, was admitted to the hospital after another sexual assault three months earlier, during which she had been raped by a stranger she met online.
“The night of the incident is still so crystal clear to me which is a blessing and a curse. What unfolded that night is something I’d never forget,” she told the ABC.
Florence found it too traumatic to speak about her experience in the ward, but wrote about it for ABC Investigations.
“I was just frozen, knowing he was so much larger than me,” she wrote.
“I was waiting for the nurses to come and help.”
A review of the incident commissioned by CAHS and seen by ABC Investigations, found the nursing staff on duty that night did not do their required hourly checks between 12:30am and 3:30am.
The review stated staff had “sequestered” themselves in the nurse’s station.
The parents say they have been told this was because the nurses were afraid of the male patient who allegedly raped Florence.
Florence’s parents, Luke and Rachel (not their real names), told the ABC that more than a year after the alleged rape of their daughter, they had no clear picture of what had went wrong in the ward that night.
“We’ve had to fight so hard just to find out the basic details of what happened to our little girl that night,” Rachel said.
The family has been unable to obtain the CCTV footage taken inside the ward on the night of the incident.
Ms Sanderson said she had asked the chief executive and board chair of WA’s Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS) to consider making the vision available to the family.
“I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t make it available,” Ms Sanderson said.
“The police were given a copy of the CCTV because it was a matter for the police and it was before the courts. So it was appropriate that they were the authorities that had that CCTV.
“My understanding is it’s now not a matter for the courts so I see no reason why that shouldn’t be made available.”
In her press conference, Ms Sanderson described the incident as “devastating and preventable”.
“I think this patient has been failed and her family was [failed too],” Ms Sanderson said.
“When we hand our children over to the children’s hospital, we expect them to be safe.
“That is a reasonable expectation that I have as a minister and as a parent.”
Asked about the actions of nurses that night, Ms Sanderson said: “There were a number of failures on that night. Staff on the floor, but also their support.”
“So, it is inexplicable why a number of things weren’t done.
“It is inexplicable why security wasn’t called. Security is available to staff, 24/7 to support them. Their supervisor, also should have attended that incident and supported the staff.”
She said that the staff involved no longer worked on the ward.
“So it was an extremely serious event and there were a number of failings.
“And that’s why we’ve taken it so seriously.”
However, Florence’s mother said the family “were not made aware that staff had lost their jobs”.
Ms Sanderson said in addition to the incident review conducted by the CAHS, the Director General of the Health Department had ordered an independent investigation by the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist, which had made a number of recommendations — several of which had been suggested by Florence’s parents — and all of which the government had accepted.
She said seven of the recommendations had been implemented, three were underway and another was a recommendation for another agency.
Ms Sanderson added $7.7 million had been allocated in the state budget to make changes to the ward including changes to its layout.
“It’s devastating that this incident happened. And it’s devastating that it took this to make these changes,” she said.
“As I said before I think this patient was failed in her admission and we’ve done everything we can since then to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”
This funding announcement came as as a surprise to Florence’s parents.
“We weren’t informed about the $7.7 million that was allocated to make changes at the hospital,” Rachel said.
Ms Sanderson was also asked about another incident that occurred in the same ward last October, which she said was the subject of “a number of investigations”.
“There was an incident that was very violent on the ward that endangered other children as well as staff. But it was managed and brought under control,” she said.
“I think it’s important to understand the cohort here. It’s a very vulnerable very troubled cohort. And sometimes they are very difficult and challenging to manage. And there was a very unfortunate incident where staff were put at risk as were other vulnerable people.”
In her press conference, the minister was asked whether the alleged rapist had been charged by police and if so, why it was no longer before the courts.
Ms Sanderson declined to comment.
However, in an interview with ABC Investigations, the family explained that it would have been a legal requirement for Florence to return to Perth Children’s Hospital during the trial before and after she gave evidence, the same hospital where the alleged rape occurred.
“And clearly, this is something that just could not happen with Florence, we could not… we would never risk putting her back in the very place that allowed this to happen to her.” said Rachel.
Luke added: “Our daughter was more important than the charges and her mental health was our priority.”
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