Serious allegations surround ‘drunk tank’ death of Lockhart River woman Patrina Pascoe

Operations at a Cairns sobering-up facility have come under scrutiny following the tragic death of a 32-year-old Far North Queensland woman who was “talking and laughing” just hours before she died inside the centre.

Patrina Pascoe, 32, tragically died at the Lyons St Diversionary Centre in Cairns in December 2023. Picture: Supplied

Operations at a Cairns sobering-up facility have come under scrutiny following the tragic death of a Lockhart River woman at the centre.

Police are investigating a sudden death of 32-year-old Patrina Pascoe at the Lyons St Diversionary Centre, which is run by Anglicare, in December 2023.

Despite required regular patient observations, Ms Pascoe was not discovered by staff until about 2.30pm the day after being picked up from a Lake St bus stop at 4pm by staff in the outreach bus.

A former worker who spoke to the Cairns Post on the condition of anonymity said Ms Pascoe showed no signs of assault and was “taking and laughing” when dropped off at the Lyons St centre, commonly referred to as a ‘drunk tank’.

A former worker told the Cairns Post Patrina had been “talking and laughing’ before her tragic death. Picture: Supplied

“She came in, had something to eat and a shower and went to bed, staff were meant to be doing bed checks every 15 minutes but they were missed,” the source claimed.

“After she died we were worried about the family turning up and it could go into riot, and the sister did turn up and was lied to, and we were told not to tell the family what happened.

“We got told not to speak about it or we would face termination.”

Lockhart River Mayor Wayne Butcher said the scourge of alcohol whether it be sly grog at Cape York or legitimate booze in Cairns continued to kill his people.

“We have buried too many people, rough sleeping in Cairns over the years,” he said.

“We are tired of burying young people at a very young age, it’s very sad.

“I don’t know what caused it all, we have to wait for the people investigating.”

The death is understood to be the first at the facility since Anglicare took over the management of the sobering up centre in 2009.

But an investigation into the death of Benjamin Ware who died at Cairns Base Hospital in October 2005 after being admitted to the centre revealed an “abysmal level of care,” according to the Coroner at the time, Kevin Priestly.

The Lyons St Diversionary Centre expanded its capacity from 36 beds to 50 beds in 2023.

In late 1992, Bama Healing Centre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation, in response to the 1987 the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, was appointed to run a diversionary centre on a trial basis from the old Alluna Hostel site on Hartley St.

With the aim of moving Indigenous people out of watch houses, the commission recommended alternatives to locking up intoxicated people in police cells and abolishing of public drunkenness as an offence.

In July 1997, Aboriginal and Island Alcohol Relief Service started operating the Lyons Street Diversionary Centre.

But from the get-go the service was plagued by financial difficulties and ceased to operate services in 2009 before being wound up.

Anglicare North Queensland then took charge of the facility.

During the 12 years the relief service operated, Coroner Priestly found poor documentation of operational procedures, fatigue management issues of staff and lack of training.

And observations of clients was minimal and limited to identifying whether clients were awake or asleep.

Patrina Pascoe had something to eat and a shower before she went to bed at the Lyons St centre. She was later found dead. Picture: Supplied

The Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships confirmed all recommendations to improve outcomes for diversionary centre patients made by the Coroner were implemented in 2013.

However diversionary centre insiders have come forward with allegations of a staff falling asleep on the job, playing poker on work computers and missing client bed checks as well as accusations of a toxic workplace and staff making derogatory comments about intoxicated female clients.

Before the death of Ms Pascoe in November 2023 an anonymous source in an email to the Cairns Post and Anglicare chief executive Liz Colahan warned “it’s only a matter of time before one of our clients is injured or worse due to the negligence of workers”.

Ms Colahan and Anglicare NQ in response to the death in care declined to comment given an ongoing coronial inquiry.

“It would be unprofessional and inappropriate to all parties for Anglicare NQ to comment and or speculate on the final findings to be handed down,” she said.

Anglicare NQ chief executive officer Liz Colahan declined to comment on Ms Pascoe’s death dur to an ongoing coronial inquiry. Picture: Supplied

A relative of the dead woman from Lockhart River, who asked to remain anonymous, said travelling to Cairns to drink and live on the street for many was a death sentence.

“An alcoholic is an alcoholic you can’t just turn the tap off, all our mob are going to Cairns and drinking themselves to death,” he said.

“It’s just getting out of control, there’s more Lockhart people down there than ever before and from Aurukun, it’s getting worse.

“Most of them go down there and come back in a coffin.”

James Cook University sly grog expert professor Alan Clough, aware of Ms Pascoe’s death, was not surprised by the tragedy given a high level of disease and pre-existing medical conditions suffered generally by the Cairns and Cape York Indigenous population.

“We just have to expect that there will be problems,” he said.

“We are dealing with a population that carries such a heavy burden of illness and disease.”

Police stated an investigation is continuing to determine the circumstances surrounding the death.

Officers are in the process of preparing a report for the coroner.

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Originally published as Serious allegations surround ‘drunk tank’ death of Lockhart River woman Patrina Pascoe