A mentally ill and physically unwell Aboriginal woman was taken from Western Australia's Bandyup Women’s Prison to Graylands Hospital where she was discovered naked and covered in her own blood in the back of a prison van.
When staff opened the doors at the graylands Franklin unit they discovered the distressed woman who had been menstruating at the time.
The incident occured last year in August and is reportedly still being investigated by the Department of Justice and WA’s Inspector of Custodial Services Neil Morgan.
Professor Morgan said the latest case raised many questions.
“It’s one of those (cases) where you hear the basic facts and you ask yourself the question: would that be all right if that was my mum or my sister. I think the natural human reaction is no,” he said.
“There were a number of people who became aware of it very quickly and that includes (my office), the Mental Health Advocacy Service and also the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist,” Professor Morgan added.
Previous reports on the prison, which is operated by private for profit company called Broadspectrum, have found it to be the most "overcrowded, complex, and neglected" in the state.
“Our review will ask the question: is this the sort of thing that happens frequently or was it an unusual occurrence?” he said. “And it will look at what processes they’ve put in place now to basically ensure this doesn’t happen again?” said Professor Morgan.
In a statement released by the WA Department of Justice it said the matter was still under investigation.
“The transportation of a female prisoner from Bandyup Women’s Prison to the Frankland Centre was raised with Acting Commissioner Tony Hassall who, in consultation with director-general Adam Tomison, referred the matter to the independent Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services.
“Acting Commissioner Hassall also launched an internal investigation. At this stage, it would be inappropriate to comment further while this matter is being investigated.”
