Auckland District Health Board Taikura Trust Aranui Home and ...

Health and Disability Commissioner
electronic copy, asking that Ms B identify the authors of each annexure, complete the
documentation and return it to him.
33. An unsigned copy of the application was provided to HDC, although it is not clear
whether this was the final draft. The affidavit completed by Ms B includes
information about Ms A’s background and her admission to ACH. Ms B stated:
34. And further:
―We are presently attempting to locate a facility with the capacity and capability
to take [Ms A]. Beds come available at short notice and it may be necessary to
have an order in place to take advantage of these placements, rather than
seeking an order after a bed is identified.‖
―[Ms A’s] family has clearly expressed their wish not to be involved in her
future care plan decisions.‖
…
―In my opinion placement in a residential care facility is in [Ms A’s] best
interest and is the least restrictive intervention in her circumstance.‖
Referrals for residential care funding
35. Ms B also noted in her entry on 25 July that funding for Ms A’s placement had been
declined verbally by Taikura Trust, and that she would apply for funding from mental
health services.
36. On 30 July, Ms B took Ms A for a cup of coffee after she had expressed a wish to
discharge herself. Ms A struggled physically to make it back to the ward, and
appeared happy to go back to bed.
37. On 6 August, Ms B noted that mental health services had declined funding.
Consultant physician Dr R wrote: ―This is disappointing, [Ms A] is frustrated, as are
we. We wait…?‖
38. The next day, Ms B faxed an application to Taikura Trust for placement funding
through the ―Interim Funding Pool‖. She included the letters from Dr C and Dr H, and
two pages from the clinical notes recording an occupational therapy kitchen
assessment completed on 1 June.
Interim Funding Pool
39. The Interim Funding Pool (IFP) was set up by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to fund
long-term support services for people with chronic health conditions who did not meet
the access criteria for MOH Disability Support Services or DHB-funded support
services. The interim system was put in place in November 2006 to administer
funding while policy work was underway to allocate ongoing funding responsibility.
8 3 November 2010
Names have been removed (except Auckland DHB, Taikura Trust, Aranui Home and Hospital/Oak
Park Dementia Unit and the expert who advised on this case) to protect privacy. Identifying letters are
assigned in alphabetical order and bear no relationship to the person’s actual name.