The Royal Commission
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was
established to investigate the abuse and neglect of children, young people, and
vulnerable adults while in State and Faith-based care in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This includes those who experienced abuse and torture at the Lake Alice Child
and Adolescent Unit.
On 25 June 2024, the Inquiry presented its Final Report – Whanaketia
– to the Governor-General. The report includes recommendations on how Aotearoa
New Zealand can better protect and care for children, young people, and adults
in State and Faith-based care settings.
Inquiry findings
As part of our engagement with the Royal Commission, the
Nursing Council identified five registered nurses among the 14 individuals
named in the Commission’s Lake Alice report. None of these nurses were
practising at the time. The remaining individuals named did not appear to be
registered nurses.
While the number of registered nurses identified was
relatively small, the Council acknowledges the broader systemic failures and
the profound harm experienced by survivors. We take responsibility for our part
in that system.
The role of Council
As the regulator, the Council is responsible for setting
standards that protect the health and safety of the public, and for ensuring
nurses meet those standards. In acknowledging past failures, we recognise that
both the system and individuals within it did not uphold the duty of care owed
to children and young people.
Acknowledging failures and responsibility
The Nursing Council is taking responsibility for our
inaction. When we became aware of the torture, abuse, and harm that occurred at
Lake Alice and in State and Faith-based care, we did not apologise. Our silence
deepened the pain experienced by survivors.
We are also apologising for the role nurses played in the
abuse, torture, and harm inflicted on children and young people. Although only
14 individuals were named in relation to nursing across the Royal Commission’s
reports, there were hundreds of references to nurses and nursing. Some
described nurses in supportive and protective roles, but many detailed serious
neglect, abuse, and failures in duty of care.
We acknowledge that nurses were not only complicit, but in
some cases active participants in these acts of cruelty. Others stood by and
did not speak out. These accounts make clear that nursing was deeply implicated
in the harm experienced by survivors.
What we have committed to
The Nursing Council has committed to:
- Embedding trauma-informed care into nursing education.
- Strengthening our Code of Conduct to ensure nurses are
equipped and expected to speak out.
- Creating a dedicated contact to help survivors engage safely
with the Council.
- Continuing to listen to survivors and include them in
shaping our future work.
Further
information