By TONY WALL
The controversial Maori trust trying to stop health authorities from removing psychiatric patients from its West Auckland homes should let the patients go for their well-being, says the trust's former chairwoman.
Nellie Rata says she resigned from the He Putea Atawhai Trust because she had concerns about the way it was being run and the welfare of its patients.
She accused trust managers of using the patients as pawns for their own gain.
Waitemata Health, armed with a Family Court order, tried on Friday night to take patients from the trust's homes in Te Atatu South and Swanson, citing concerns for residents' clinical safety and well-being.
In July, the Health Funding Authority (HFA) withdrew the trust's funding for breach of contract.
The trust has accused Waitemata Health of launching a military-style operation late into the night.
The two parties met all day yesterday in a hui at a West Auckland marae aimed at resolving the issue
The trust says that many of the 19 residents named in the court documents are happy to stay on.
But Mrs Rata, widow of prominent Maori politician Matiu Rata, was critical of the husband-and-wife team running the trust, Bob Birks and Tarati Hohepa-Birks.
"If they really had concerns for those patients, they would have let them go to good, safe homes that are available for them and being paid for. Why are they hanging on to them?"
Mrs Rata said Waitemata Health had every right to take the action it did, although she disapproved of the late-night raid, and suggested that if residents were taken away from the trust environment they would be more forthcoming about where they wanted to go.
She said she was appointed chairwoman in January solely for the integrity she would give the trust.
"I was supposed to be in charge but I had no authority whatsoever. I did not have access to financial reports. I never saw a bank statement - it was most unusual."
Mrs Rata said the Birks cried poor, saying there was not enough money to properly maintain the homes, but with an HFA contract worth more than $1 million a year, "it should have been overflowing with honey."
She claimed the buildings at the Swanson home had not been upgraded for years and lacked basic comforts such as dining and smoking rooms.
Safety measures such as fire alarms were lacking and the residents were not properly supervised and were allowed to wander alone.
Mrs Rata said that in the past few weeks there had been allegations of standover tactics to make patients sign over their savings to pay for their board. "It's not right."
Mrs Hohepa-Birks said yesterday that Mrs Rata was entitled to her opinion, but the trust was "grossly underfunded."
She accused Mrs Rata of "working with the HFA to move our people out."
"I've had peace of mind since Nellie moved out. Nellie is the system - I'm not the system. Nellie belongs to the Government thinking ... I'm the opposite - grassroots."
Mrs Hohepa-Birks accused the HFA of racism in axing the trust's contract and failing to provide promised levels of funding.
"All the truth will come out when they see the figures."
She said the Swanson home was run-down because money had gone into upgrading the Te Atatu home, a former Housing Corporation property that was "grossly run-down."
Let psychiatric patients go, says former trust head
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