Nelson mental health worker suffers serious burns

A health worker in a mental health unit was left with bad burns to his eye, face and chest after a cup of boiling water was thrown at him by an inpatient.

Derive McNeill was subject to a compulsory treatment order as an inpatient at the Wahi Oranga inpatient Mental Health and Addictions Service in Nelson when in February this year he filled up a cup of boiling water from a Zip cylinder that was in a common area of the unit. He the walked “purposefully” towards the victim and threw the contents of the cup in his face.

The cylinder had recently been repaired, and while the water was only ever meant to be warm, a “mechanical failure” meant the water had been heated to boiling point.

“This was an error on the tradesman’s part that wasn’t detected until this happened,” Judge Tony Snell said.

McNeill was immediately restrained but continued to be combative, the police summary of facts said.

The victim, who immediately suffered blurred vision, was taken to the Nelson Hospital’s emergency department where he was treated for burns.

He was shaken by how fast the assault had occurred, was now wary and anxious around patients, had lost trust in people and worried about being targeted again, police said.

McNeill, 27, was on Tuesday convicted and sentenced in the Nelson District Court to 12 months of supervision on a charge of assault with intent to injure.

He was also ordered to make a $500 emotional harm payment to the victim.

The police supported a community-based sentence.

McNeill, who was said to be “deeply unwell” at the time, and had suffered a string of mental health crises for about 13 years, said in the letter he regretted his actions.

He also said that he respected the challenging work done by those in the mental health sector who over the years had saved him on “multiple occasions” from near-fatal circumstances.

“You have indicated that you wish to thank the victim for his involvement in public mental health,” Judge Snell said.

He had also received a letter from McNeill’s mother who outlined the history of mental health challenges his son had suffered since his teens.

McNeill’s lawyer Mark Dollimore said the consequences since had been an “absolute wake-up call”, including that plans to seek a discharge without conviction were abandoned and restorative justice had not gone ahead, as the victim did not wish to attend.

“He’s been in police custody and going through the court has jolted him,” Dollimore said.

He said McNeill’s behaviour had until now been dealt with outside court.

Judge Snell said the circumstances involving a defendant facing serious charges and who was extremely mentally unwell at the time posed challenges for the court.

He said the complexity of mental health conditions did not excuse people’s actions but it helped to explain how they came about.

McNeill was now living in the community and was still subject to a compulsory treatment order, and was responding well to ongoing treatment, Dollimore said.

Judge Snell said McNeill had pledged not to act violently ever again and wanted to engage in an anger management course.

He considered the sentence the only realistic option but reminded McNeill that any further acts of violence may not be treated so leniently.

“You mustn’t let yourself down by these sorts of acts, which came about because you were deeply unwell,” Judge Snell said.