Malaita premier calls for investigation into allegations of sexual abuse of psychiatric patients at Kilu’ufi hospital
By Alfred Sasako
PREMIER Peter Ramohia has called for an urgent investigation into what he described as “very serious allegation” of sexual abuse and rape at the Kilu’ufi Hospital Psychiatric Unit.
The Premier told Island Sun last night that he was unaware of the allegation until the newspaper informed him.
“Thank you for informing me about this matter,” he told Island Sun in a returned email.
“This is a very serious allegation indeed. The best thing to do in my opinion is for the right authorities to investigate this matter, establish the truth and those involved dealt with under (the) law.
“If true, (the) Malaita Provincial Government condemns in the strongest terms such actions from those entrusted (with) and mandated to care for patients of the Unit.
“I call on Kilu’ufi Hospital to address this matter as well and those involved face justice. Such actions continue to paint a bad picture of our beloved Malaita Province,” Premier Ramohia said.
The Premier’s reaction follows reports that a male nurse had sexually abused a 15-year-old female patient at the Psychiatric Unit of Kilu’ufi Hospital at least three times.
Island Sun has received a graphic report on allegations of rape, sexual abuse and assaulting of psychiatric patients at the National Psychiatric Hospital-at Kilu’ufi, Malaita province.
According to the report, the story involves three male nurses working at the Psychiatric Unit.
The first nurse, according to the report, is a male nurse, well trusted and a fatherly figure. This incident occurred in a room beside the female ward in this Hospital. He was holding and fondling the female patient’s breast and started kissing and sucking on them. He kept on sucking on her breasts and murmur to himself; “nice one ia”. While this sucking was going on, he was disturbed by another female patient who came along and lay down … beside them,” the report said.
“The Nurse was taking alcohol during this time because while he was sucking away he called out (to) his other colleague nurse, ‘where is my beer?’
“On another incident, this same male nurse and another female nurse were supposed to be on duty. This male nurse arrived first at the hospital,” the report said. Upon his arrival he was watching the patients’ video, it said.
“Later on, that same female patient whom he (had) abused as mentioned above asked if she could be allowed to go to her relative’s house who is a Nurse at Kilu’ufi.
“Instead this male nurse pulled her hand aggressively to the point that his fingernails scratched into the palm of her hand. Then he dragged her to the female ward and gave her a hard slap with a powerful force.
“She cried, but no one took note of her,” the report said.
Nurse 2
The second incident involved a male Nurse Aide who had been working at the hospital for quite a long time. The nurse was allegedly terminated for allegedly assaulting a patient, the report said.
The Nurse Aide was re-employed but the reasons for his re-instatement are unknown, the report said.
“Twice he went into the female ward and held and touched the same patient that Nurse 1 had abused and assaulted by touching her private part and using his pointer finger and pushed it into her private part.
“The third time he led the same patient to the Kitchen, closed and locked the door behind them. There was no one else on duty that night. He caressed her breast and performed oral sex on her before penetrating her.
“The patient told female nurses that she experienced pain in her private part for many days thereafter,” the report said.
He (the Nurse Aide also) told the patient that “he is a Police Officer and resides in Cops land. This is to intimidate her so that she will not say anything to anybody,” the report said.
Nurse 3
The allegations against Nurse 3 occurred in the middle of the night when he went in to the female ward.
There, he allegedly turned to the same patient allegedly abused by nurse 1 & 2.
“On another occasion this nurse went into the female ward and carried the same victim to the storeroom and placed a mattress on the floor. He laid this same patient down and started to fondle and kiss her breasts and only stopped when a female Nurse Aide walked in on them.
The next day the victim informed a female Nurse Aide of what had happened the night before.
“On another day, this nurse (3) walked into the psychiatric ward when he was not even on duty, and went straight to a domestic cleaner in the kitchen accusing her of spreading false rumours about him raping a patient. This domestic cleaner stood her ground and told him straight in the face that she did not see him doing the act but it was the patient (victim) herself that reported what actually happened that night.
According to the report, the matter “has been known to the psychiatric management but it has been deal with very leniently.”
