Colin James: Who’s to blame over Oakden nursing home scandal
THE burning question about the Oakden nursing home scandal is who is ultimately responsible — and who should, quite rightly, lose their jobs.
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THE most burning question about the Oakden nursing home scandal is who is ultimately responsible — and who should, quite rightly, lose their jobs.
It is too easy to call for Mental Health Minister Leesa Vlahos to resign. That is always the first course of action by Opposition politicians when such scandals erupt.
Instead, the focus should be on those people paid very high salaries to run our mental health system, especially senior executives within the Northern Local Area Health Network (NALHN) and SA Health’s head office.
First to be called to explain themselves before a public inquiry, hopefully a royal commission or the very least a coronial inquest, should be NALHN chief executive Jackie Hanson, nursing executive director Vanessa Owen and mental health director Maria West.
This trio had direct managerial responsibility for Oakden and it was under their watch that the atrocities revealed by the review conducted by Chief Psychiatrist Dr Aaron Groves occurred.
Exactly what Dr Groves knew about Oakden before he started his investigation earlier this year should also be scrutinised in more detail.
By law, he has responsibility to promote “continuous improvement” in the delivery of mental health care in SA, which involves monitoring the treatment of patients and the standard of psychiatric treatment.
It is his official responsibility to raise any concerns relating to patients or their care with Health Minister Jack Snelling.
So did Dr Groves not know what was happening out at Oakden, even when it was sanctioned by a federal watchdog? If not, why not?
His level of awareness is pertinent when relatives and advocates say they have been raising concerns for several years with authorities. Who exactly were these people?
Did they not include Dr Groves or the Principal Community Visitor, Maurice Corcoran? It is Mr Corcoran’s official role, by law, to visit and inspect mental health treatment centres, such as Oakden, once a month.
How long ago did Mr Corcoran start visiting Oakden? He certainly did late last year and wrote two reports. But, if these problems did exist a decade ago as claimed, why weren’t they detected earlier by Mr Corcoran or his predecessors.
Similarly, what has the Public Advocate, Anne Gale, and her predecessor, John Brayley., been doing? Their job, by law, is to speak for and promote the rights of mentally incapacitated people, such as many of Oakden’s patients.
Were they never approached by concerned families? Did they never get asked to check on their care? Did they never go to Oakden for any reason whatsoever? Did they not raise concerns with SA Health or NALHN?
These are the sort of serious questions which need to be vigorously asked by someone with serious clout. And quickly. Patients, their families and the broader community deserve answers.
Colin James is Opinion Editor of The Advertiser