KATE NEWTON
Child abuse is not only a national scandal, but a local scandal, according to the man at the frontline of hospital care for young victims at Hawke's Bay Hospital.
Russell Wills, the clinical director of paediatrics, said that every day he was seeing victims of child abuse come into
the ward battered and bruised.
This year Child, Youth and Family would be notified about 2500 abused children in Hawke's Bay, and 300 of those notifications would be made by the Hawke's Bay District Health Board, he said.
"There has been a 50 per cent increase in notifications over four years. That's substantial," he said. "Some of that's to do with more recognition of child abuse but I know it to be an increase in prevalence too."
But on top of the horrific physical injuries to children, Dr Wills said, Hawke's Bay was going to have a long-term problem dealing with the behavioural problems of child-abuse victims.
"The physical injuries are just a small part of the effects of abuse and neglect," he said.
"One of the most disturbing things we are seeing is the much earlier onset of challenging behaviours as a result of abuse.
"Children are being expelled from kindergarten or very early in primary school."
Couples were also getting more violent while in the hospital's ward and paediactric staff were frequently in danger, Dr Wills said.
"Several of us have been threatened but none of us in the children's ward or SCBU have been hurt yet. I had to trespass two fathers from the ward two weeks ago for threats to staff and patients. I've had to trespass people before but never two fathers in one week."
Recent high-profile child abuse cases in Rotorua prompted a Starship intensive care specialist to describe New Zealand's level of child abuse as a national scandal today.
Last week, three-year-old Nia Glassie was flown to the children's hospital in Auckland with serious head and abdominal injuries, allegedly caused by months of abuse, which included being put in a tumble dryer and hung on a washing line.
The latest baby, a boy, was admitted on Saturday and was in a stable condition last night.
Dr Wills said "of course" Hawke's Bay's level of child abuse could be described as a local scandal.
