Girl unattended for 11 hours—Court told

Press, 20 October 1987, Page 22

Girl unattended for 11 hours—Court told

PA Wellington An 11-year-old girl found dead in her sleeping restraint at a home for the intellectually handicapped was left unattended for 11 hours, the Coroner’s Court at Lower Hutt was told. The Court was holding an inquest into the death of Joanne Czarnomski, a resident at Glen Home, Stokes Valley. Detective Sergeant Michael Small said the girl was put to bed on February 1 at 7.30 p.m. in a restraint that was used

to confine her. The girl was intellectually handicapped and autistic. The restraint was used because staff had problems keeping the girl in bed at night It was tied to . the four corners of her bed, he said. The girl was found dead by a supervisor at 6.40 a.m. the next day. Three supervisors told _ the Inquest it was normal practice not to make special checks during the night Wo. found, the girl wasTslumped over the side

of the bed, still in her restraint. A pathologist Dr Stewart Alexander, said the girl died of strangulation. The girl’s father said.in , evidence that he was concerned his daughter was left in her restraint without being checked, for 11 hours. . Had he known she was not regularly checked he would have wanted to put her in a different institution, where a night nurse was. on duty. The Coroner, Mr Alex Protiwroe. reserved his findings until October 23.