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The case of a man who escaped a mental health facility days before he was charged with killing one person and critically injuring two others has again focused attention on the failure of the NSW mental health system to protect patients and the public.
Setefano Mooniai Leaaetoa, 25, was arrested after a rampage with a kitchen knife in a Merrylands on Tuesday. He was charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Parramatta Local Court heard he was also facing other charges for domestic violence-related assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
He was known to police for petty crime and mental health incidents and 10 days before the stabbings he had been under the care of Western Sydney Local Health District.
He fled while being transferred between Cumberland Hospital and Westmead Hospital emergency department. “NSW Police were notified and contact was made with the patient’s family, but all attempts by WSLHD to contact the person were unsuccessful,” the health service said.
Leaaetoa’s rampage came just weeks after the state coroner Theresa O’Sullivan released recommendations flowing from her inquest into the Bondi Junction stabbing murders.
O’Sullivan’s report pinpointed gross inadequacies in the state’s mental health system.
Queenslander Joel Cauchi, 40, was shot dead by NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott six minutes after he began his rampage in the Bondi Junction Westfield shopping centre and stabbed 16 people on the afternoon of April 13, 2024. Six people died.
O’Sullivan recommended the need for new guidelines and policies in relation to the care of those suffering schizophrenia in NSW and Queensland, as well as short-term accommodation in the greater Sydney area for those experiencing mental health issues and homelessness. She also recommended the NSW government, over the next 12 months, obtain advice about the decline of mental health outreach services and determine a “realistic timeline” to resource such services.
Concerns over the delivery of mental health services, coupled with the Merrylands rampage, only add to heightened public fears already being fanned by violent incidents, including terrorist attacks, and demands for increased police powers and legislative protections.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists has attempted to assuage fears following the Merrylands rampage, acknowledging that while events of this nature go beyond those directly involved, psychiatrists and mental health clinicians across NSW work every day to support people through crisis and recovery under incredibly difficult circumstances. “The vast majority of people living with mental health conditions are not violent. Suggesting otherwise contributes to stigma, increases fear, and can discourage people from seeking treatment and support,” said NSW branch chair Ian Korbel.
No one wants to stigmatise those living with mental health problems. But there is no escaping the obvious: high-risk individuals are in the wings and the parlous state of mental health services, lack of support and misplaced priorities can allow them to slip through safety nets.
It’s not unreasonable to ask how many more Merrylands rampages will it take before government moves to make the state’s mental health services fit for purpose?
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