The Southland District Health Board has been criticised for its treatment of a paranoid schizophrenic man who was released from hospital and killed his mother the following day.
A clinical audit of the care of Mark Burton has found that hospital procedures were inadequate and concerns expressed by his family were
not explored by hospital staff.
Burton, aged 20, was found not guilty by reason of insanity of murdering his mother, Patricia Burton, at her home in Queenstown last March.
He had been discharged from the mental health unit at Southland Hospital despite a warning from his father, a police officer, that family members' lives would be in danger.
The Wellington psychiatrist who conducted the clinical audit, Bridget Taumoepeau, found that social workers who visited Burton while he lived in an Invercargill flat on a trial release observed him drinking heavily. He had attempted to contact drug dealers while in hospital.
The audit also noted inadequate medical documentation during Burton's admission to hospital in February, inadequate assessment of his risks and needs, and discharge planning that was "rather disorganised".
