Voices with Intellectual Disabilities Criticized Silenced in Reopening of IHC Complaint

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IDEA Services Managing Director Ralph Jones. IDEA Services is a subsidiary of IHC. Photo/Andrew Warner

A complaint about the closure of IHC activity centers for the mentally disabled has been reopened by the Health and Disability Commissioner two years after the patient watchdog decided not to investigate.

The father of a woman in the care of IDEA Services said he was surprised when the HDC unexpectedly contacted him late last month to say he was reopening his complaint.

The man, who did not want to be named to protect his intellectually disabled daughter, filed a complaint with the HDC in October 2020 after his daughter suffered a nervous breakdown following the closure of IDEA Services activity centers.

At the time, the HDC chose not to investigate the complaint, saying the permanent closure of 59 of the 114 day bases originally closed before the first Tier 4 lockdown was the responsibility of the Department of Health.

The father told HDC that his statement acknowledging the challenges that have arisen in relation to the fragile mental state of his daughters fails to acknowledge the seriousness of the harm caused.

Your letter seems to imply that IDEA Services can get away with hurting people if it involves reconfiguring services, which it certainly can’t, he wrote.

Morag McDowell, Health and Disability Commissioner. Photo/NZME

However, on November 28 this year, he received notification from the HDC that he was reopening his complaint, a rare action by the commissioner.

A decision has been taken to review our preliminary decision on your complaint and to reopen the case in accordance with section 33(3) of the Commissioner for Health and Disability Act 1994, the letter states.

This decision was made after carefully reviewing all information on file, including your complaint, IHC’s response to our inquiries, and after speaking with Whaikaha. [the Ministry of Disabled People].

The Herald understands this isn’t the only complaint against IDEA Services recently reopened by the HDC, but the HDC said it couldn’t answer that question by the deadline.

Submission and legal threat

In March this year, the man, along with eight others with family members supported by IDEA Services, submitted a 29-page submission to the Department of Health criticizing IHC’s leadership over the course of of the last 20 years.

Some of the main concerns were:

In 2008, the branches of the IHC were downgraded to associations and the members, close to mentally handicapped residents, no longer had the right to vote; In 2010, the IHC closed all its workshops, removing the possibility for people with mental disabilities to work; In 2020, IHC closed its day activity centers and moved activities to homes, meaning social outings were much less frequent.

In October, the father, a longtime member of IHC, received a letter from the group’s managing director, Ralph Jones, threatening him with legal action for defamation, after Jones had obtained the submission through the law of official information.

He said the man pursued a relentless campaign against him personally with defamatory and false allegations to deliberately damage Jones’ reputation, and that the derogatory comments were defamatory and falsely threatened his reputation.

The comments exceed the bounds of common decency and acceptable behavior and if you continue to pursue this hurtful campaign specifically targeted to defame my character, I will seek appropriate remedies, including the filing of civil lawsuits against you.

IHC chief executive Ralph Jones has called a 29-page submission critical of his leadership of IHC defamatory. Photo / Provided

Asked about allegations of bullying and intimidation of families complaining to IDEA Services, Whaikaha’s Deputy Managing Director of Operational Design and Delivery, Amanda Bleckmann, said a robust complaints process was essential. to provide services that were safe, responsive, and in a way that providers could respond quickly to issues.

Under the Health and Disability Services Consumer Rights Code, consumers have the right to complain and health and disability service providers must facilitate the fair, simple, timely and effective resolution of complaints, a- she declared.

We expect a solid complaints process from IDEA Services. We expect services to be provided to those in their care in a safe and appropriately managed manner.

Response from CSIs

IDEA Services refuted any suggestion of bullying and said it had a clear complaints process and was in regular communication with family members and IHC members.

A spokesperson said the man had widely disseminated false, misleading and hurtful statements about IHC for many years.

They said that if the man provided evidence to support his charges, IDEA Services would immediately investigate them, but he did not.

Despite the meeting of the Chairman of the Board of IHC with [the man] and his family to discuss and resolve his concerns, he continued his relentless campaign to discredit the IHC and various officers and personnel.

This has now resulted in [the man] publishing a 29-page submission containing defamatory statements against the chief executive of the IHCs group in particular.

In response to the submission, Jones told NZME that the move from branches to associations was voted on by IHC members and approved by IHC’s 32 branch presidents.

He said IHC was an incorporated society and that changes to the rules of the society could only be made with the approval of its members, usually at the society’s AGM.

Regarding workshop closures, Jones said societal attitudes have shifted away from sheltered workshops, where people are not paid fairly or respected for their work.

Jones said the closures were in line with Pathways to Inclusion, a direction set by the government 20 years ago for professional services for people with disabilities which he said offered more choice, self-esteem, purpose and enjoyment of life.

Regarding day centers, Jones said after extensive consultation, IDEA Services agreed to modify its service program to be flexible and offer choices.

There are still a few day bases that are scheduled to reopen, but are not yet open due to the chronic staffing shortages we are currently facing.

He said IDEA Services had worked with the families to offer services and support, including in the case of the woman who suffered the breakdown.

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