An 11-year-old girl was restrained, injected with anti-psychotic drugs, and placed on a mental health ward after New Zealand police mistook her for a missing woman, a report found Wednesday.
Health officials and police have scrambled to explain the mix-up, which has appalled political leaders and stoked outrage across the country.
The girl — who displayed “limited verbal ability” — was crossing a bridge in northern Hamilton city when a passing police car mistakenly identified her as a missing 20-year-old female hospital patient, the review said.
Police drove the girl to hospital, where she was admitted to an “intensive psychiatric care unit” despite one nurse suggesting she “resembled a child”.
“Patient A lives with a disability that means she was not able to tell people about herself,” said a review by the ministry of health, referring to the girl.
After refusing to take drugs offered by staff, the girl…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
