Psychiatric ward security toughened

Press, 3 February 1987, Page 8

Psychiatric ward security toughened

PA Auckland Iron bars and breakproof glass have been installed on the top floor of Auckland Hospital to stop psychiatric patients leaping to their deaths. The security measures were ordered after a man smashed a window in the admission suite of the psychiatric wards on the tenth floor of the hospital last October and jumped to his death.

The medical superintendent, Dr Desmond Beckett, said the glass the man broke was toughened and supposed to be breakproof, but it failed. The glass in the suite has now been replaced with polycarbonate, a tough plastic which is bul-

let-proof. Other lower windows in the ward have been replaced with the same material at a cost of $13,411.

Dr Beckett said the extent of the new secure features may be unnecessary.

“But when someone does something like that you don’t want to be accused of not doing anything to prevent it happening again.” Dr Beckett said the October case was the first of its kind in the 10 years the ward had been used.

“This chap who broke the window and jumped did it so quickly a nurse at the other end of the room couldn’t get to him in .time.”