Waikato Hospital Photo: Supplied/ Waikato Hospital
Health NZ has apologised after an 11-year-old girl was mistaken for a 20-year-old woman and admitted to a mental health facility.
The girl was handcuffed by police officers after they misidentified her and took her to Waikato Hospital's Henry Bennett Centre.
The New Zealand Herald reported the girl was autistic and non-verbal, and injected with medication at the hospital. Te Whatu Ora said a review would be carried out to see if any medication had been given to the girl.
Te Whatu Ora deputy chief executive for Te Manawa Taki Cath Cronin said the girl was taken to Waikato Hospital's emergency department by police who told staff she was a missing patient.
"Police advised our staff a short time later that they had identified the young person as a missing patient, subject to Section 29 of the Mental Health Act, and they were admitted to our care.
"Police called about 12 hours later to advise they had misidentified the young person. It was not the person they had originally thought."
Police then advised that they believed the girl to be a missing young person.
Her family arrived to take her home.
Cronin acknowledged it was a distressing and traumatic experience.
"We are very sorry. We have apologised to the young person and their whānau and will remain in contact with them," she said.
A review was being carried out, including into any medication or treatment given to the girl, Cronin said.
"We want to fully understand what happened."
In a statement, Waikato police said the girl was not initially handcuffed when officers were taking her to hospital but, but once there they put handcuffs on her.
Superintendent Scott Gemmell, Acting Waikato District Commander, said police were called about 6.40am on Sunday 9 March to the Fairfield Bridge, Fairfield, after a person described as a female in her 20s was seen climbing onto the railings.
"Fearing for her safety, police units, including a police boat, responded immediately, and staff attempted to speak to the female. She was unable to give the officers any details and did not have any personal identification on her."
Police were concerned she was suffering from a mental health episode and took her to Waikato Hospital for assessment.
"The female got into a patrol car without requiring assistance or force and was not handcuffed," Gemmel said.
On arrival at the hospital officers decided to put her in handcuffs when her behaviour caused further concern for her safety, he said.
Speaking to Checkpoint, Gemmell said when the girl was taken to Waikato Hospital, "identification was of primary concern".
"We took a photo of her and we distributed that amongst our staff on one of our distribution lists.
"One of our staff came back with a nomination of a person who was residing in a community based mental health facility approximate ot the Fairfeld bridge."
Police then spoke to a carer and sent through a copy of that photograph for identification purposes
"We did that and the carer did come back to say they thought it was this person as well.
"Based on that knowledge, we went into the emergency department at Waikato Hospital, and based on that information that we have to hand, we believed this to be another person.
"We are really disappointed and gutted by what has subsequently happened."
Gemmell said he had seen photos of the two, and they had similar face, hair and complexion, but officers at the time were relying more heavily on someone who dealt with the 20-year-old more often.
Gemmell said the 20-year-old woman was not in a mental health facility at the time of the incident.
A local woman was thought to be a possible identity and police sought to confirm this with a mental health service provider who knew that person. Based on that advice they told Waikato Hospital staff, including their rationale for the nominated identity, he said.
"The incorrectly nominated person was not involved in any earlier occurrence and was not being sought by police."
About 6pm that evening, a woman reported her 11-year-old daughter missing, and a staff member recognised her as the female picked up on the bridge.
Police staff immediately disseminated information about her, including a photo to all staff, as she was considered a vulnerable missing person due to her age and several other factors.
One staff member recognised her and her family was contacted.
"We know that the events of that morning were likely distressing for the young girl, and her family. We are working with Waikato Hospital to review the events of that day, and better understand how the misidentification occurred.
"Our staff acted in the best interests of keeping someone safe; a person they believed needed mental health care."
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey said he expected to be kept fully informed of the condition of the 11-year-old, and the 20-year-old she was mistaken for.
"This is an incredibly distressing set of circumstances. What occurred is not acceptable and my heart goes out to the two young people involved and their families," he said.
"I understand Health New Zealand has launched an investigation into this incident, and both myself and the Minister of Health expect to be kept fully informed of the outcomes."
Autism New Zealand chief executive Dane Dougan told Morning Report it came down to a lack of understanding of autism.
"If we focus in on the autistic part, and obviously being non-communicative at that particular time, it was clearly a relatively significant misunderstanding that caused a pretty traumatic event for the young lady," he said.
"This all sort of stems down to, I think, at the end of the day, a lack of understanding of autism and how autistic people try to communicate at times.
Dougan said it was hard to fathom how an 11-year-old autistic girl could be mistaken for a 20-year-old woman. He called for there to be more training for first responders around understanding people with autism.
"It just puts everyone in a safer situation if there's a better understanding of autism."
"If we are a first responder and seeing someone acting in this way, having an understanding that they may be autistic could really help avoid these situations in the future, and I think that does come down to education and training."
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