Death in Alice Springs alcohol treatment facility

A DOCTOR has questioned the effectiveness of the Government’s Alcohol Mandatory Treatment programs after a woman died at the Alice Springs facility.

CAAPU, Alice Springs

A DOCTOR has questioned the effectiveness of the Government’s Alcohol Mandatory Treatment programs after a woman died at the Alice Springs facility.

People’s Alcohol Action Coalition spokesman Dr John Boffa said the fact the death was not made public until two weeks after was typical of the secrecy surrounding the AMT programs.

“From the very start we’ve been very concerned about the lack of transparency around Alcohol Mandatory Treatment,” he said. “This just highlights the risks of institutionalising people who have serious medical conditions.”

Dr Boffa, a practising physician, said many questions around the viability of AMT remained unanswered.

“What are the outcomes being achieved? Who’s it working for? Who isn’t it working for?

“We need these questions answered to determine whether it is an effective and ethical form of treatment for alcohol treatment, and we’re no closer to answering those questions 18 months into AMT.” The Central Australian Aboriginal Alcohol Programs Unit, where detainees of the AMT program in Alice Springs are held, extended its condolences to the family of indigenous woman Kwementyaye, who passed away after a suspected seizure.

READ: ALCOHOL TREATMENT SAVES LIVES, ELFERINK SAYS

Unit chairman Eileen Hoosan said the board met immediately to ensure correct cultural protocols were in place at the tragic time.

Despite reports that Kwementyaye’s sister was not notified of her death, Ms Hoosan said the unit took “all possible steps to ensure family members and the community were informed about the sad passing”.

The Department of Health NT said it could confirm a death occurred at an Alcohol Mandatory Treatment facility in Central Australia last month but refused to provide further details. “The death has been reported to the coroner and it is therefore not appropriate to comment further,” a spokeswoman said.

The AMT facility in Katherine will not go ahead in the proposed location at the Industrial Park on Chardon St.

The NT News reported last month that businesses were opposed to the facility being built in the industrial estate.

Alternative sites are now being investigated.