ACC Review Panel joins conference

A press release from SOSA

The government-appointed Independent Review Panel for ACC’s contentious new Clinical Pathway joins others at SOSA’s (Survivors of Sexual Abuse) invitation for June 20th inaugural Summit at AUT North Shore Campus.
This gives survivors the opportunity to have their say about what services they need from ACC, as well as have fun, be inspired and pampered, take back power, find their voices and unite.
“It's about time survivors had their say,” says the initiator of this important day, Dr Gudrun Freirichs. “The NZ government and ACC are part of the silencing by relying heavily on the medical profession and labelling us mentally ill. If we don’t fit the diagnosis, they are washing their hands of us while our perpetrators get unlimited help and counselling in prison programmes or the SAFE Network.
“Why lock up sexual perpetrators if what they do to their victims doesn’t warrant government support?” she asks. “Given that 1 in 4 females and 1 in 10 males experience sexual abuse by the age of 18 means that there are plenty of perpetrators out there interested in silencing us.”
Dr Freirichs goes on to say that sexual abuse destroys individuals and families. “This has to stop”, she says. Frierichs encourages speaking out, “Survivors need to know they are not alone.”
Well-known survivors Louise Nicholas and Aaron Gilmore from Dancing with the Stars will speak at the hui. Artist Tania Blomfeld organiser of “Courageous Women” t-shirts is running the art workshop, while Labour MP Lynne Pillay will give the forum a political edge.
Join the fight for recognition and better services by registering at www.sosanz.com until Friday 11th, or pay $20.00 at the door. SOSA organisers are encouraging registration using a pseudonym, should that feel more anonymous.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1006/S00086.htm

Question to Minister: ACC - Minister's statements

Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister for ACC: Does he stand by all his recent statements on ACC?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for ACC) : Yes.
Hon Annette King: Does he stand by his claim on 6 May in Parliament that the College of Psychiatrists had issued a statement strongly in support of the changes that the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) had made to the sensitive claims guidelines; if so, is the College of Psychiatrists not telling the truth in a letter it released on 10 May, stating that the college had not supported the new ACC pathway, and that, indeed, it had declined to release a press release in support of it? Will he now address this little inconsistency in his answer to Parliament?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I said that the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners had issued a statement that “ACC’s practice guidelines for sexual abuse and mental injury will strengthen these results still further. All the clinical evidence suggests the new approach ACC is adopting will be in the interests of the patient.” The advice I received from ACC was that the College of Psychiatrists had made statements to ACC in support of the guidelines and the change.
Hon Annette King: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I know that you do not wish to have Hansard tabled in this House. I based my question on the Minister’s answer on 6 May, in which he named the College of Psychiatrists as having issued a statement.
Hon Dr NICK SMITH: No.
Hon Annette King: Yes, Mr Speaker. I have the Hansard. The Minister is saying no, but I seek leave to table the Hansard.
Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection.
Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I seek leave of the House to table the statement issued by the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners dated 2 November 2009.
Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection.
Lynne Pillay: Why, in the face of overwhelming opposition throughout New Zealand to the ACC-imposed clinical pathways introduced under his watch, does he not simply reinstate the previous process? Even visiting American sexual abuse expert Dr Mike Lew says that ACC’s new criteria is a “real tragedy that would cause tremendous suffering,”.
Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I understand that that statement was made in respect of the requirement that for a person to receive accident compensation support, he or she is required to have a diagnosed mental injury. It is a requirement of the law that Labour put in place in 2001.
Melissa Lee: Are claims that there has been a dramatic decrease in the amount ACC is spending on sensitive claims since the new guidelines came into effect correct?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH: No, such claims are grossly misleading. The amount ACC has spent on sensitive claims for the year to date is $45.7 million, which compares with $46.7 million for the exact same period last year. The amount spent on counselling per month has been consistent over the last 3 years at $900,000. The average amount spent on sensitive claims counselling is $905,000 per month over the last 3 months.
Lynne Pillay: Does he agree that when a young woman is held at knifepoint for 15 hours and repeatedly raped it is outrageous that she should wait weeks before earnings-related accident compensation can be paid, which is what his colleague Chris Tremain told the media in 2006? How does he reconcile Mr Tremain’s outrage then with the fact that rape victims are now waiting months or indefinitely just for counselling to be approved by ACC?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The average time for processing sensitive claims at the moment, I understand, is about 20 days. That is unacceptably long. It is one of the reasons that I have established a clinical review of management of sensitive claims. I want ACC to work with clinicians and professionals to ensure that the best possible counselling support within the law is provided to those claimants.
Hon Annette King: Why did he tell the House on 6 May when I asked him whether he had heard of a group of survivors of sexual assault called Courageous Women, who are challenging the changes to accident compensation guidelines, that “I’ve heard of the group only through the newspaper” when at that point during question time he had full knowledge of the group, he had had a phone call with its spokesperson Louise Nicholas 3 days earlier, and he had had time to arrange staff members to listen in on that conversation with Ms Nicholas and make records of that conservation? Would he now like to address that little inconsistency in his answer to Parliament?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Mr Speaker—[Interruption]
Mr SPEAKER: I apologise to the Minister. What I take to be a serious question has been asked of the Minister; if the Opposition members wish to hear an answer they should respect the Minister.
Hon Dr NICK SMITH: When I had advised the House that I knew of the group, Courageous Women, through the media, I was stating a fact. Louise Nicholas had a conversation with me as a formal advocate for victims of sexual abuse. I did not know that she was formally connected to that group, and, quite frankly, I do not think there is any big deal about how I might have found out that this particular group, called Courageous Women, exists.
Hon Annette King: Does he recall these words on 6 May in answer to a question from me: “the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and the College of General Practitioners have issued statements strongly supportive of the changes that ACC has made.”, and would he know like to apologise to the House for saying he did not say those words in this House?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Each time the member has used the quote she has quoted the words slightly differently. I will be very clear for the member—
Hon Trevor Mallard: But it’s your Hansard.
Hon Dr NICK SMITH: No, previously the member opposite used a different set of words. For the member’s benefit I will be very clear. The College of General Practitioners issued a written statement. I was advised by ACC—and I would be happy to table the report from ACC—that the College of Psychiatrists formally advised ACC that it supported the guidelines.
Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The member offered to table a document. I make clear and put on the record that if that is the case, the Opposition wants to see it.
Mr SPEAKER: The member knows that it is up to the Minister to table a document, unless he was quoting from an official document, which appears not to have been the case.
Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table the Hansard of 6 May, in which the Minister claimed that he had a statement from the College of Psychiatrists in support of his changes. The college has denied that it ever issued such a statement.
Mr SPEAKER: Because of the controversy, I will put that leave to the House. Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection.

http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QOA/a/1/0/49HansQ_20100518_00000003-3-Accident-Compensation-Minister-s-Statements.htm

Question for written answer

8732 (2010). Lynne Pillay to the Minister for ACC: When he told the House on 6 May 2010, "I invite Courageous Women, or members of the Opposition, or any other group that has concerns about ACC's work in this area, to make their submissions to that clinical review team", how did he expect them or other concerned members of the public to do that when the Accident Compensation Corporation website contains no such invitation, nor any contact details for the Review Group?
Hon Dr Nick Smith (Minister for ACC) replied: The Independent Review of ACC’s Clinical Pathway for Managing Sensitive claims will seek input as identified in the Terms of Reference to the Review. The Review will seek input where appropriate from relevant parties as identified and determined by the group. Notwithstanding this, there is nothing to stop interested parties making submissions at their own will, that is why a postal address and e-mail address, independent of ACC and my office, has been set up.
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QWA/9/a/5/QWA_08732_2010-8732-2010-Lynne-Pillay-to-the-Minister-for-ACC.htm

Parliament takes on clothesline look

An article from the Associated Press

Parliament briefly resembled a backyard clothesline today, when Labour MPs held up row after row of T-shirts in a bid to highlight the plight of sexual abuse victims. On the T-shirts were written the stories of the former owners, members of Courageous Women, a group for survivors of sexual abuse. The group had offered the shirts to ACC Minister Nick Smith, but he had so far refused to take them, a spokeswoman for Labour Party deputy leader Annette King told NZPA.
Dr Smith has overseen changes to clinical guidelines as to the amount of sexual abuse counselling ACC will fund. Courageous Women oppose the changes.
The T-shirts were raised in unison by the Labour MPs, after Ms King had quizzed Dr Smith on his refusal to meet a Courageous Women member this week. Ms King said Dr Smith had phoned one of the sexual assault victims this week "berating and bullying her" and calling the T-shirts a "fiasco and media circus".
Dr Smith said he totally rejected that. The woman had phoned his office several times requesting a meeting, then said if he did not respond she would go to radio news. He said he had told her an independent clinical review panel of skilled clinicians set up to investigate if ACC was properly meeting its legal responsibilities to sexual abuse victims was the appropriate place to address her concerns.
After Dr Smith answered the T-shirts were raised in rows. Speaker Lockwood Smith was unimpressed, saying the shirts were to be removed immediately, or the MPs would be told to leave the debating chamber. Standing orders said only MPs who were speaking could use visual aids, he said.
Labour MP Lynne Pillay said some sexual abuse victims were suicidal, and by the time the review reported it could be too late for them.

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/7184986/parliament-takes-on-clothesline-look/