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OT office ‘hell’ factor

Annemarie Quill

Staff at Oranga Tamariki’s Tauranga office had told management at least nine times before Malachi Subecz’s death they were ‘‘increasingly worried about the health and safety and quality of social work’’ being provided.

Oranga Tamariki provided a report to Dame Karen Poutasi as part of her investigation into how government departments could have prevented the boy’s murder by his caregiver, Michaela Barriball. This report included an admission by Oranga Tamariki that staff at its Tauranga office had raised concerns at least nine times.

Staff were quoted as saying they were ‘‘increasingly worried about the health and safety and quality of social work we are providing’’. Reports raised by staff related to the effect of high workload, a high number of unallocated cases, lack of capacity on site, burnout and stress, and concern about the flow-on effect on social work practice.

The office first received concerns about Malachi being in Barriball’s care in June 2021. By November 2021, the 4-year-old boy was dead.

The report into Oranga Tamariki’s failures cited issues at the Tauranga office as a key factor.

The report also acknowledged that at the time concerns were raised for Malachi’s safety, Te huru Mōwai social work staff were at capacity and experiencing ‘‘long-standing workload pressures’’. ‘‘Staff at Te huru Mōwai site were clear at the time of their involvement with Malachi and his whānau, that workload and resourcing issues were having a direct impact on their practice.’’

An example of this, the report said, was the allocation of Malachi’s initial assessment to a new social worker, who did not usually undertake assessments, and would normally be under supervision by more experienced staff. The social worker did not contact any outside agencies about Malachi and his whānau, including the police, nor did she contact Malachi’s daycare or visit the place where he was living with Barriball.

‘‘Members of Malachi’s whānau made repeated, sincere and considered efforts to raise their concerns about the care, safety and wellbeing of Malachi. The Oranga Tamariki response to these concerns was inadequate,’’ said the report.

Staff painted a shocking picture of the Te huru Mōwai office under pressure from a high workload and office culture challenges.

One staff member said: ‘‘The volume of work is unbearable . . . after hours is hell ... We are in a horrible cycle of dealing with crisis.’’

National News

en-nz

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281616719392615

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