Savanna

‘Many people undergoing mental treatment in hospital have no-one left to defend them or advocate for them to make sure that their basic rights are even close to being met.’

Savanna experienced severe childhood trauma. She told the Royal Commission she witnessed her mother trying to kill herself and was abused by her father, who had schizophrenia.

In her early teens Savanna was treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. In her late teens she was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.

Since then, she has been admitted to hospital and placed on a treatment order three times. Her latest admission was in the early 2000s.

Savanna said she was tricked into going to hospital. The community mental health team told her she needed to have a work clearance to continue working.

‘This was a complete deception – I was there to be assessed for admission. This has left me feeling that I cannot trust mental health workers.’

At the hospital a junior doctor briefly assessed her, placed her on a treatment order and admitted her to the psychiatric ward.

Savanna said she was only mildly unwell. ‘I feel that my initial assessment was based upon my previous history of mental illness as opposed to what was going on for me at the time.’ She is adamant she could have been treated in the community because there was no risk of her harming herself or anyone else.

Not expecting to be detained, Savanna didn’t have a change of clothing or any night clothes. ‘I felt humiliated in having to wear hand-me-down clothes of dubious quality,’ she said.

Savanna was not allowed to leave the mental health ward even to go outside for fresh air. On one occasion security staff held Savanna down against her will. She was continually asked about her intentions to suicide or self-harm.

Staff removed Savanna’s house keys and purse. There was no computer in the ward and a nurse wouldn’t let Savanna access her debit card to pay her rent. There was a welfare officer but an appointment had to be made in advance – there was a three-day waiting list. There was very little entertainment – just a blaring TV and piped music. Staff forced Savanna to go to bed at a fixed time using a set routine.

‘I was told that there would be no access to a bible or any other culturally and linguistically diverse literature. I had to wait until I met the chaplain. I was denied my spiritual life ... I had to live in a horrible room with just a bed in it and a very grumpy nurse would come to attend to me.’

When Savanna’s friend was visiting a nurse interrupted and demanded to know why he were there. Savanna argued and the nurse told her she had powers under the Mental Health Act to medicate her to control her behaviour. She ordered Savanna to go to the nursing station. Savanna had never taken the medication before and refused, saying she would only do so if the nurse signed a letter stating Savanna was taking it against her will. ‘Nobody would sign the letter.’

The psychiatrist who usually treats Savanna later told her this drug is used to manage frustration and inappropriate anger and should not have been prescribed for her.

Savanna was ‘devastated by the experience of being detained’ and made an application to review her treatment order. ‘I could have done with practical support to lodge my review application, but I did not get it.’ She wasn’t able to attend the hearing, meet the lawyer appointed to represent her or speak to the panel.

‘In my case, there was a failure to provide an accurate diagnosis of my condition. The impact on me was that I was deprived of my liberty for several days, due to an ineffective non-diverse care regime. I was eventually discharged under a community treatment order.

‘I believe that individuals need to be recognised above and beyond just being a sick person, and rather as a person [who] might become healthy given the appropriate conditions and proper healthcare. I found my stay … de-humanising.’