A man whose wife was murdered by a forensic mental health patient three years ago has not heard from authorities for more than a year and says his family feels “forgotten”.
The Minister of Mental Health says the level of contact is unacceptable, and has reinforced his expectations that the family would be regularly updated and provided support by Health New Zealand.
Zakariye Mohamed Hussein stabbed Laisa Waka Tunidau to death as she walked home from work on 25 June 2022. Hussein was on community leave at the time of the killing.
Two reviews were ordered, one into Hussein’s care, and another looking at Canterbury District Mental Health Services.
The mother-of-four’s husband Nemani Tunidau met with staff from Hillmorton Hospital in early 2024. He says it was the first and last time he has heard from them.
He told RNZ his family felt “forgotten”.
“It just makes me angry and feel that they don’t want to blame themselves for what has happened to my wife.
“We are suffering from loneliness, especially the children.”
He wants compensation for HNZ’s “carelessness that caused the death of my beloved wife”.
In October last year another mental health patient Elliot Cameron murdered pensioner Faye Phelps at her Christchurch home.
Correspondence released to RNZ under the Official Information Act revealed that on 24 April, a principal advisor at the Ministry of Health emailed the manager of media relations at the Ministry of Health and the Director of Mental Health Dr John Crawshaw about the report into Canterbury District Mental Health Services and media coverage of family experience.
Phelps’ daughter Karen Phelps said she and her brother had a meeting at Hillmorton on 18 December.
Since then, they had received one email that had been forwarded on by police from Canterbury Specialist Mental Health Services general manager Vicki Dent on 14 March.
Dent said the independent review into Cameron’s care was “progressing well”.
“This is taking a little longer than we had originally hoped, but it is important that this is completed thoroughly.”
Dent was unable to give a “definitive timeframe” for when the review would be completed, but said she would keep the family updated.
Dent said she was stepping away from the general manager role, and said the director of nursing would be the point of contact going forward.
Phelps told RNZ it was “extremely disappointing” that Health NZ had “not been keeping our family better informed”.
She said the longer it took for reports to be completed “the longer the public is at risk”.
In response to questions from RNZ, Minister of Mental Health Matt Doocey said the level of contact Tunidau received was unacceptable.
Health New Zealand spokesperson Phil Grady said in a statement to RNZ that HNZ always made contact with families following “serious events” to help provide answers where they could.
“We have done this in both cases, however we recognise there is always room for improvement in our communication with families.”
In some cases, families choose to communicate with HNZ through their lawyer or the police.
“Following serious events such as these we undertake a review and this process can be lengthy. During the review process we are often limited in what we can share with families without compromising the independence of the review. During this period we do offer family liaison support where appropriate.
“We are making contact with the families’ preferred representative to offer an update and a further opportunity to meet.”
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said the ministry recognised the importance of keeping families informed in these circumstances.
“The ministry plans to soon be in contact with both the Tunidau family and the Phelps family as part of the arrangements involved in finalising a report into systemic issues within local mental health services, including forensic services, which was sparked in part by the tragic death of Laisa Waka Tunidau.”
Director of Mental Health Dr John Crawshaw said he acknowledged both families’ concerns and he intended to meet with both families face to face once the report was complete – should they wish for this to happen.
