Forensic psychiatry: Clinician departed system after patient's fatal leave

A clinician who treated Zakariye Mohamed Hussein at Hillmorton Hospital testified on Tuesday that they left the public health system following the murder of Laisa Waka Tunidau in June 2022.

The second phase of the inquest into Waka Tunidau’s death resumed before coroner Alexandra Cunninghame. More than 20 medical staff involved in Hussein’s care are scheduled to provide evidence. The first witness, a clinician who treated Hussein between 2015 and 2022, had their identity suppressed.

The witness addressed Waka Tunidau’s family in the public gallery before beginning their testimony. They stated that the events of June 25 changed their life and that they think about the victim and her family daily. The clinician noted that while they have returned to everyday moments with their own children, the victim’s family must live with the absence of a person they should still be sharing those moments with.

The court heard that the death, combined with sector-wide concerns, prompted the clinician to leave clinical medicine at Health New Zealand and the local forensic service. In a letter to the director of mental health in January 2022, the clinician outlined issues including two acutely unwell patients being returned to prison and incidents related to moving patients to less secure units. The witness cited staffing difficulties and challenges in pathways between forensic and general adult mental health services.

“We were trying to meet increasingly complex needs with limited resources, while staff were working under considerable strain,” the clinician said. They added that they were concerned about the quality of care and the sustainability of the workload, which led them to step down from leadership roles.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Stephanie Grieve KC, asked about the decision to allow Hussein unescorted community leave in early 2022. The clinician explained that the team decided to shift Hussein toward a rehabilitation-based pathway. The witness acknowledged that this decision might be challenged but pointed to five months of successful community living and three years of no violence as evidence of his capacity to move his life forward.

Hussein was jailed for life with a 13-year non-parole period in November 2022. He had previously been jailed for more than six years for kidnapping, stabbing, and intimidating people across Christchurch in March 2012. The clinician will resume their evidence on Wednesday.