An 88 year-old man with severe and advancing dementia accused of murdering his wife of 56 years has had the charge dropped, after a court ruled he will never be fit to plead to the allegation. John Huggins has since March been charged with the murder of his 76 year-old wife Joan, whom he was accused of stabbing to death in their Piara Waters home. WA’s Supreme Court today heard that a neighbour of the couple found Mrs Huggins’ body after becoming concerned when speaking to Mr Huggins as he wandered around in the front yard of his southern suburbs home. The court was told today that a highly disoriented Mr Huggins told his neighbour that “there is a dead little girl in the house”. When the neighbour investigated, it was in fact Mrs Huggins who was inside, with fatal stab wounds. Today, Justice Stephen Hall sat on a fitness to plea hearing, where he was told that since his arrest Mr Huggins had been an in-patient at the Armadale hospital, being treated for his advancing dementia, which had markedly deteriorated in the last month. Justice Hall was told there was a strong, circumstantial case against Mr Huggins, who was being cared for by his wife at the time of her death after a long and apparently happy marriage. The court heard that previously, another violent incident had occurred when Mr Huggins became upset about his wife researching respite care on the internet.
August 15, 2017
Two Victorian mental health patients have taken their fight against compulsory electro-shock therapy to the Supreme Court. A man named as “PBU” has received six electroconvulsive therapy sessions against his will while hospitalised for mental health issues in Melbourne, and is fighting an order for more, Victoria Legal Aid says. A woman, “NJE”, who is receiving treatment has also been ordered to undergo 12 sessions against her will. “Each of my clients understands this procedure and is terrified of it,” barrister Emrys Nekvapil told the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday. The case focuses on whether a person has the capacity to give informed consent and how treatment options should be considered.
August 15, 2017
A former senior SA Health employee convicted of orchestrating an elaborate scam involving fake work-related death threats has been taken into custody after an appeal court ruled her home detention sentence was “manifestly inadequate”. Simon Craig Peisley, 41, and Tabitha Lean, 39, were found guilty of more than 40 deception charges for faking racist death threats to themselves, their children and colleagues. Lean was director of the Aboriginal Health Services division of SA Health and her husband was also employed there. As a result of the threats, SA Health paid for the couple to live in apartments at North Adelaide, paid for extensive private hospital stays and psychological care, and sent them on interstate holidays. The couple also received WorkCover payments and had been negotiating a compensation payout of $580,000. The sentencing judge described the offending as “bizarre” and “outrageous” and said it had “shattered” the reputation of the department.
August 15, 2017
NSW public hospitals have been graded by their doctors in training in the Hospital Health Check Survey report published Monday. No NSW hospital scored an “A” mark for their overall performance in the report published Monday by the Alliance NSW (AMA NSW and Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation). Among greater Sydney’s hospitals, the following scored an overall C: Bankstown-Lidcombe, Blacktown, Campbelltown and Camden, Concord and Canterbury, Liverpool and Fairfield, Nepean, RPA, St George and Sutherland, St Vincent’s, The Childrens Hospitals, Prince of Wales and Westmead. Only The Royal North Shore, and the North Sydney LHD hospital grouping of Hornsby, Manly and Mona Vale hospitals scored an overall “B” mark. The two measures with the most C and D grades were “rostering and overtime” and “wellbeing”, with no NSW hospital scoring A and only a handful scoring B. RPA, St Vincent’s, Bankstown-Lidcombe, Westmead, and St George and Sutherland hospitals each scored two D marks, one for “rostering and overtime”, and the other for “wellbeing”.
August 14, 2017
A s.604 (Appeal of decisions) by the National Union of Workers against Sigma Company Limited T/A Sigma Healthcare has been determined. The full bench ruled denial of natural justice – decision quashed – matter referred to single member for hearing of application for approval.
August 14, 2017
A s.238 (Scope order) application by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation-Northern Territory Branch has been approved by Commissioner Wilson in Melbourne on 8 August 2017. This matter concerns an application for a scope order made by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation in respect of bargaining proposed for a new enterprise agreement for certain employees of the Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation.
August 14, 2017
A s.185 (Enterprise agreement) application by Wurli-Wurlingjang Aboriginal Corporation for its Wurli-Wurlinjang Enterprise Agreement 2017 has been approved by Commissioner Johns in Sydney on 10 August 2017.
August 14, 2017
The Queensland State Government is refusing to guarantee it will release details of a review into the death of a homeless veteran allegedly assaulted at the Gold Coast University Hospital. A patient accused of murdering the 53-year-old army veteran was dropped off by police about an hour before the alleged bashing in an Emergency Department toilet around 8am last Friday. After John Imber died of serious head injuries last Sunday, a row has erupted between police and Gold Coast Health about responsibility for the other patient.
