Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Lake Alice Hospital: Apology over abuse an 'insult' to survivors

RNZ
6 Jul, 2022 10:54 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Lake Alice Hospital. Photo / Public Domain

Lake Alice Hospital. Photo / Public Domain

An advocate for abuse survivors says an apology over torture at Lake Alice psychiatric hospital is an insult to victims.

Patients tortured at Lake Alice psychiatric hospital have finally received an apology from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists after waiting for more than 40 years.

The Royal Commission into abuse in state care has been told of psychiatrists and staff at the Lake Alice child and adolescent unit being administered electric shocks and paralysing drugs as punishment for minor crimes during the reign of terror that began in the 1970s. It was told of multiple other forms of abuse by former patients.

But Royal Forum - a group monitoring the work of the Abuse in Care inquiry - says the survivors deserve more.

It says the college has not been in contact with any of the former patients and the statement containing the apology was only posted on its website and is hard to find.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Representative of the group Dr Oliver Sutherland said the apology was meaningless.

"It fails on two counts. Firstly, in terms of the process assurances were given that there would be some dialogue or consultation with the forum and hopefully with survivors before it was concluded. But actually, none heard anything or even were aware of it until it appeared on the rather obscure website of the Royal College."

He also said it failed in terms of content and didn't specifically address individual abuse that occurred within the regime that was operating at the hospital.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Overall it's an insult and very disrespectful to the survivors," he said.

The apology had been picked up by an advocate by chance and had mostly addressed the work of the Royal Commission and did nothing to address the particular pain and damage that was done to survivors, Sutherland said.

He said survivors had been deeply disappointed by what they saw as a false apology and that a substantive apology should have been issued.

"It's interesting because the Royal College had waited for 46 years. They knew what was happening from 1977 and they've waited this time and now suddenly slipped something on to their website, which nobody knew was coming and which fails miserably."

"Real apologies for needed for real abuse and the real harm that was suffered, not a sort of a half-baked apology that slims lightly over the surface and doesn't mention the real abuses that occurred."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

W&W Construction wins three national awards

09 Jun 01:30 AM
Whanganui Chronicle

Sarjeant Gallery visitor numbers revealed

08 Jun 05:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

'Gaps in knowledge': Council investigating former landfill site

08 Jun 05:00 PM

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

W&W Construction wins three national awards

W&W Construction wins three national awards

09 Jun 01:30 AM

Director Glenn Wadsworth said the company was proud to be recognised for its work.

'Gaps in knowledge': Council investigating former landfill site

'Gaps in knowledge': Council investigating former landfill site

08 Jun 05:00 PM
Sarjeant Gallery visitor numbers revealed

Sarjeant Gallery visitor numbers revealed

08 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
Nicky Rennie: Grief is complex and there is no textbook

Nicky Rennie: Grief is complex and there is no textbook

06 Jun 06:00 PM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP