After eight years of grief and advocacy for better mental health services, Owen and Carey Hume finally sit in a coroner’s hearing into the death of their daughter Erica.

Erica was 21 when she died in Palmerston North Hospital in May 2014, where she had been a patient at the mental health ward.

Owen Hume said in an opening statement at the hearing in Palmerston North on Monday it had been “a long and frustrating eight years”.

At times struggling for composure, he said Erica was a daughter any father would be proud of.

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He wanted those at the inquest to understand the context of his daughter’s life.

She had struggled with anxiety in her second-to-last year at high school, and had talked to a teacher, school counsellor, and a school doctor who prescribed medication.

Her parents knew nothing about it until they were informed she was going to be admitted to a mental health ward in Tauranga.

“We were mortified and in shock.”

After recovering from a second admission, Erica Hume went to Massey University.

She was referred to mental health services, assessed as “not being bad enough”, but was referred back when university health services became “extremely concerned” for her.

Hume was admitted to Ward 21, the mental health ward, as a voluntary patient, on May 6, 2014.

“Erica did not want to die, she wanted to live, and she asked for help.”

The next day, according to Coroner Matthew Bates’ summary, she was found unconscious in her room.

She was moved to the intensive care unit where she died on May 16.

The inquest into her death follows another in June into the death of Shaun Gray, also a Ward 21 patient, who died at the unit in April the same year.

Coroner Bates is in charge of both inquiries.

The two deaths were followed by a series of investigations into the adequacy of mental health services in Palmerston North and, particularly, several damning reports on the mental health ward.

The former MidCentral District Health Board extended an apology to the Humes about Erica’s care back in 2014, which prompted them to begin what has become an eight-year battle for improvements.

The couple became regular attendees at board committee meetings, driving from their home in the Bay of Plenty to Palmerston North every six weeks to keep the topic on the agenda.

November 2019 was a milestone moment when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited and pledged $30 million for a new mental health ward, describing the existing ward as more like a prison than a place where people would get well.

Building is yet to begin.

Te Pae Hauora o Ruahine o Tararua MidCentral finance and corporate services general manager Neil Wanden said tenders for the main contract would close on Friday.

He said the new unit was a significant and crucial project, and the current facilities had long been recognised as needing replacement.

The timeframe for construction of the new unit on Palmerston North Hospital grounds would be decided once the contractor was appointed.

“Our aim is to transform the way this service is delivered. We are putting the time in now to ensure that what we build is future-proofed and will support our community for many years to come,” Wanden said.

He said the new building would be welcoming, warm and make good use of natural light in order to enhance the therapeutic nature of spaces.

“The new model of care will enable us to offer support in a culturally appropriate environment, and offer flexibility for those in significant distress.”

WHERE TO GET HELP:

1737, Need to talk? Free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor

Lifeline – 0800 543 354 or (09) 5222 999 within Auckland

Youthline – 0800 376 633, free text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz or online chat

Samaritans – 0800 726 666

Suicide Crisis Helpline – 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)

What’s Up – 0800 942 8787 (for 5–18 year olds). Phone counselling is available Monday to Friday, midday–11pm and weekends, 3pm–11pm. Online chat is available 7pm–10pm daily.

Kidsline – 0800 54 37 54 (0800 kidsline) for young people up to 18 years of age. Open 24/7.

thelowdown.co.nz – or email team@thelowdown.co.nz or free text 5626

Anxiety New Zealand – 0800 ANXIETY (0800 269 4389)

Supporting Families in Mental Illness – 0800 732 825