Latest news with #Yamatji
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Health
- The Advertiser
'Doesn't bring her back': death in custody preventable
An Aboriginal woman's newborn baby was ripped from her arms soon after giving birth while in prison. But Heather Calgaret was not given any mental health support after this traumatic event. Over the next two years behind bars, the mother-of-four became obese, developed type 2 diabetes and suffered depression before being denied parole. She died in custody in November 2021 after given an inappropriately prescribed injectable opioid substitution. Countless missed opportunities to prevent the 30-year-old's death in custody were outlined by a coroner on Monday, as her family and supporters filled the courtroom. "Not only was her passing preventable, she should never have passed in the manner that she did," Victorian coroner Sarah Gebert said as she delivered a 300-page finding. The proud Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman had been six months' pregnant when she arrived at Dame Phyllis Frost women's prison in July 2019. The removal of her baby girl just after giving birth, because she had been denied access to the prison's Living with Mum program, was a "pivotal" moment, the coroner found. "Heather had her other children removed ... and her family had been affected by the Stolen Generation," Ms Gebert said. "Each of these factors would be expected to produce a range of both trauma-related symptoms and feelings of despair." Ms Calgaret was not given access to a psychologist while at Dame Phyllis and her mental health declined. About six months before her death, Ms Calgaret pleaded in a letter to be released on parole. She explained the See Change program she was required to complete was not available at Dame Phyllis and asked to do it outside prison. "I have four children that need me. I believe I have suffered enough," Ms Calgaret wrote in the letter. She begged for someone to "please read and answer my letter", but it was never forwarded onto the parole board. The coroner said Ms Calgaret had been eligible to be considered for parole more than a year earlier, about seven months after her sentence for aggravated burglary was imposed. It wasn't until October 2021 - a month before she died - that she was told her parole application had been denied because of a lack of suitable accommodation. On November 22, a doctor gave her a dosage of opiate replacement therapy that was too high for her tolerance level. Ms Calgaret's sister Suzzane, who was housed with her at the prison, found her struggling to breathe the following morning. She shook Ms Calgaret to let her know it was time for the daily count, but her younger sister was not moving. A "code black" was called and she was taken to hospital where she died four days later. The Correct Care Australasia doctor had "lacked the careful consideration required" to prescribe the injectable drug, the coroner said. She found Ms Calgaret would not have died if she had not been given the drug, or if she had been supervised afterwards. Suzzane Calgaret welcomed the findings but said it should not have taken her sister's death for changes to be made. "I hope they just have learned from this because it's taken my sister's life, my mum's daughter's life," she said outside court. "There's a reason now for her passing and that reason has been justified by the outcome, but it doesn't bring her back." Ms Gebert issued 16 recommendations, including monitoring women who give birth in custody for post-natal mental health treatment. She encouraged Justice Health to work with the government and stakeholders to improve the psychological services available at the prison and their care of inmates with chronic health issues. Ms Gebert said the parole application process should be reviewed to ensure it does not undermine the integrity of prison sentencing. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 An Aboriginal woman's newborn baby was ripped from her arms soon after giving birth while in prison. But Heather Calgaret was not given any mental health support after this traumatic event. Over the next two years behind bars, the mother-of-four became obese, developed type 2 diabetes and suffered depression before being denied parole. She died in custody in November 2021 after given an inappropriately prescribed injectable opioid substitution. Countless missed opportunities to prevent the 30-year-old's death in custody were outlined by a coroner on Monday, as her family and supporters filled the courtroom. "Not only was her passing preventable, she should never have passed in the manner that she did," Victorian coroner Sarah Gebert said as she delivered a 300-page finding. The proud Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman had been six months' pregnant when she arrived at Dame Phyllis Frost women's prison in July 2019. The removal of her baby girl just after giving birth, because she had been denied access to the prison's Living with Mum program, was a "pivotal" moment, the coroner found. "Heather had her other children removed ... and her family had been affected by the Stolen Generation," Ms Gebert said. "Each of these factors would be expected to produce a range of both trauma-related symptoms and feelings of despair." Ms Calgaret was not given access to a psychologist while at Dame Phyllis and her mental health declined. About six months before her death, Ms Calgaret pleaded in a letter to be released on parole. She explained the See Change program she was required to complete was not available at Dame Phyllis and asked to do it outside prison. "I have four children that need me. I believe I have suffered enough," Ms Calgaret wrote in the letter. She begged for someone to "please read and answer my letter", but it was never forwarded onto the parole board. The coroner said Ms Calgaret had been eligible to be considered for parole more than a year earlier, about seven months after her sentence for aggravated burglary was imposed. It wasn't until October 2021 - a month before she died - that she was told her parole application had been denied because of a lack of suitable accommodation. On November 22, a doctor gave her a dosage of opiate replacement therapy that was too high for her tolerance level. Ms Calgaret's sister Suzzane, who was housed with her at the prison, found her struggling to breathe the following morning. She shook Ms Calgaret to let her know it was time for the daily count, but her younger sister was not moving. A "code black" was called and she was taken to hospital where she died four days later. The Correct Care Australasia doctor had "lacked the careful consideration required" to prescribe the injectable drug, the coroner said. She found Ms Calgaret would not have died if she had not been given the drug, or if she had been supervised afterwards. Suzzane Calgaret welcomed the findings but said it should not have taken her sister's death for changes to be made. "I hope they just have learned from this because it's taken my sister's life, my mum's daughter's life," she said outside court. "There's a reason now for her passing and that reason has been justified by the outcome, but it doesn't bring her back." Ms Gebert issued 16 recommendations, including monitoring women who give birth in custody for post-natal mental health treatment. She encouraged Justice Health to work with the government and stakeholders to improve the psychological services available at the prison and their care of inmates with chronic health issues. Ms Gebert said the parole application process should be reviewed to ensure it does not undermine the integrity of prison sentencing. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 An Aboriginal woman's newborn baby was ripped from her arms soon after giving birth while in prison. But Heather Calgaret was not given any mental health support after this traumatic event. Over the next two years behind bars, the mother-of-four became obese, developed type 2 diabetes and suffered depression before being denied parole. She died in custody in November 2021 after given an inappropriately prescribed injectable opioid substitution. Countless missed opportunities to prevent the 30-year-old's death in custody were outlined by a coroner on Monday, as her family and supporters filled the courtroom. "Not only was her passing preventable, she should never have passed in the manner that she did," Victorian coroner Sarah Gebert said as she delivered a 300-page finding. The proud Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman had been six months' pregnant when she arrived at Dame Phyllis Frost women's prison in July 2019. The removal of her baby girl just after giving birth, because she had been denied access to the prison's Living with Mum program, was a "pivotal" moment, the coroner found. "Heather had her other children removed ... and her family had been affected by the Stolen Generation," Ms Gebert said. "Each of these factors would be expected to produce a range of both trauma-related symptoms and feelings of despair." Ms Calgaret was not given access to a psychologist while at Dame Phyllis and her mental health declined. About six months before her death, Ms Calgaret pleaded in a letter to be released on parole. She explained the See Change program she was required to complete was not available at Dame Phyllis and asked to do it outside prison. "I have four children that need me. I believe I have suffered enough," Ms Calgaret wrote in the letter. She begged for someone to "please read and answer my letter", but it was never forwarded onto the parole board. The coroner said Ms Calgaret had been eligible to be considered for parole more than a year earlier, about seven months after her sentence for aggravated burglary was imposed. It wasn't until October 2021 - a month before she died - that she was told her parole application had been denied because of a lack of suitable accommodation. On November 22, a doctor gave her a dosage of opiate replacement therapy that was too high for her tolerance level. Ms Calgaret's sister Suzzane, who was housed with her at the prison, found her struggling to breathe the following morning. She shook Ms Calgaret to let her know it was time for the daily count, but her younger sister was not moving. A "code black" was called and she was taken to hospital where she died four days later. The Correct Care Australasia doctor had "lacked the careful consideration required" to prescribe the injectable drug, the coroner said. She found Ms Calgaret would not have died if she had not been given the drug, or if she had been supervised afterwards. Suzzane Calgaret welcomed the findings but said it should not have taken her sister's death for changes to be made. "I hope they just have learned from this because it's taken my sister's life, my mum's daughter's life," she said outside court. "There's a reason now for her passing and that reason has been justified by the outcome, but it doesn't bring her back." Ms Gebert issued 16 recommendations, including monitoring women who give birth in custody for post-natal mental health treatment. She encouraged Justice Health to work with the government and stakeholders to improve the psychological services available at the prison and their care of inmates with chronic health issues. Ms Gebert said the parole application process should be reviewed to ensure it does not undermine the integrity of prison sentencing. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 An Aboriginal woman's newborn baby was ripped from her arms soon after giving birth while in prison. But Heather Calgaret was not given any mental health support after this traumatic event. Over the next two years behind bars, the mother-of-four became obese, developed type 2 diabetes and suffered depression before being denied parole. She died in custody in November 2021 after given an inappropriately prescribed injectable opioid substitution. Countless missed opportunities to prevent the 30-year-old's death in custody were outlined by a coroner on Monday, as her family and supporters filled the courtroom. "Not only was her passing preventable, she should never have passed in the manner that she did," Victorian coroner Sarah Gebert said as she delivered a 300-page finding. The proud Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman had been six months' pregnant when she arrived at Dame Phyllis Frost women's prison in July 2019. The removal of her baby girl just after giving birth, because she had been denied access to the prison's Living with Mum program, was a "pivotal" moment, the coroner found. "Heather had her other children removed ... and her family had been affected by the Stolen Generation," Ms Gebert said. "Each of these factors would be expected to produce a range of both trauma-related symptoms and feelings of despair." Ms Calgaret was not given access to a psychologist while at Dame Phyllis and her mental health declined. About six months before her death, Ms Calgaret pleaded in a letter to be released on parole. She explained the See Change program she was required to complete was not available at Dame Phyllis and asked to do it outside prison. "I have four children that need me. I believe I have suffered enough," Ms Calgaret wrote in the letter. She begged for someone to "please read and answer my letter", but it was never forwarded onto the parole board. The coroner said Ms Calgaret had been eligible to be considered for parole more than a year earlier, about seven months after her sentence for aggravated burglary was imposed. It wasn't until October 2021 - a month before she died - that she was told her parole application had been denied because of a lack of suitable accommodation. On November 22, a doctor gave her a dosage of opiate replacement therapy that was too high for her tolerance level. Ms Calgaret's sister Suzzane, who was housed with her at the prison, found her struggling to breathe the following morning. She shook Ms Calgaret to let her know it was time for the daily count, but her younger sister was not moving. A "code black" was called and she was taken to hospital where she died four days later. The Correct Care Australasia doctor had "lacked the careful consideration required" to prescribe the injectable drug, the coroner said. She found Ms Calgaret would not have died if she had not been given the drug, or if she had been supervised afterwards. Suzzane Calgaret welcomed the findings but said it should not have taken her sister's death for changes to be made. "I hope they just have learned from this because it's taken my sister's life, my mum's daughter's life," she said outside court. "There's a reason now for her passing and that reason has been justified by the outcome, but it doesn't bring her back." Ms Gebert issued 16 recommendations, including monitoring women who give birth in custody for post-natal mental health treatment. She encouraged Justice Health to work with the government and stakeholders to improve the psychological services available at the prison and their care of inmates with chronic health issues. Ms Gebert said the parole application process should be reviewed to ensure it does not undermine the integrity of prison sentencing. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
An Indigenous woman's baby was taken from her. It was a ‘pivotal moment' before she died in prison
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the following article contains images and names of deceased people. An Indigenous woman's newborn had been taken from her, she had been denied parole and then a doctor prescribed her a high dose of synthetic opiates leading to her death. Heather Calgaret's death in custody was preventable and her health in prison had deteriorated from the moment her baby was removed from her at birth, a coroner found on Monday. 'Not only was her passing preventable, she should never have passed in the manner that she did,' Victorian Coroner Sarah Gebert said as she delivered a 300-page finding following an inquest. The 30-year-old Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman had been six months pregnant when she arrived at Dame Phyllis Frost women's prison, in Melbourne's outer west, in July 2019. The removal of her daughter – which Calgaret had described as 'hell' – was a pivotal moment in her overall health decline while in custody, Gebert found. She experienced depression, grief, shame and trauma from the child's removal and separation from her three other children, became obese and was diagnosed with diabetes over her next two years in prison. Calgaret pleaded to be released on parole about six months before her death, writing a letter expressing frustration as one of her parole conditions was to complete a program that was not available. 'I have been told I need to complete the See Change program to complete parole. Dame Phyllis Frost is not running it,' she wrote, as she asked to be permitted to complete the program outside prison.
The Age
3 days ago
- Health
- The Age
An Indigenous woman's baby was taken from her. It was a ‘pivotal moment' before she died in prison
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the following article contains images and names of deceased people. An Indigenous woman's newborn had been taken from her, she had been denied parole and then a doctor prescribed her a high dose of synthetic opiates leading to her death. Heather Calgaret's death in custody was preventable and her health in prison had deteriorated from the moment her baby was removed from her at birth, a coroner found on Monday. 'Not only was her passing preventable, she should never have passed in the manner that she did,' Victorian Coroner Sarah Gebert said as she delivered a 300-page finding following an inquest. The 30-year-old Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman had been six months pregnant when she arrived at Dame Phyllis Frost women's prison, in Melbourne's outer west, in July 2019. The removal of her daughter – which Calgaret had described as 'hell' – was a pivotal moment in her overall health decline while in custody, Gebert found. She experienced depression, grief, shame and trauma from the child's removal and separation from her three other children, became obese and was diagnosed with diabetes over her next two years in prison. Calgaret pleaded to be released on parole about six months before her death, writing a letter expressing frustration as one of her parole conditions was to complete a program that was not available. 'I have been told I need to complete the See Change program to complete parole. Dame Phyllis Frost is not running it,' she wrote, as she asked to be permitted to complete the program outside prison.
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Health
- Perth Now
Aboriginal woman's baby taken before death in custody
An Aboriginal woman's newborn had been taken from her, she was denied parole and then a doctor prescribed her a high dose of synthetic opiates leading to her death. Heather Calgaret's death in custody was preventable and her health in prison had deteriorated from the moment her baby was removed from her at birth, a coroner found on Monday. "Not only was her passing preventable, she should never have passed in the manner that she did," Victorian coroner Sarah Gebert said as she delivered a 300-page finding following an inquest. The proud Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman, 30, had been six months' pregnant when she arrived at Dame Phyllis Frost women's prison in July 2019. The removal of her daughter - which Ms Calgaret had described as "hell" - was a "pivotal moment" in her overall health decline while in custody, Ms Gebert found. She experienced depression, grief, shame and trauma from the child's removal and separation from her three other children, became obese and was diagnosed with diabetes over her next two years in prison. Ms Calgaret pleaded to be released on parole about six months before her death, writing a letter expressing frustration as one of her parole conditions was to complete a program that was not available. "I have been told I need to complete the See Change program to complete parole, Dame Phyllis Frost is not running it," she wrote, as she asked to be permitted to complete the program outside prison. "I have four children that need me, I believe I have suffered enough. "The prison system is holding me back from getting parole ... someone please read and answer my letter." But her letter was never forwarded to the parole board. She had been eligible to be considered for parole seven months after beginning her sentence, but this did not occur until much later and she was denied due to a lack of suitable accommodation. Ms Calgaret had 10 weeks left to serve of her two-year and four-month jail term for armed robbery when she died, after a doctor prescribed her a dosage of opiate replacement therapy that was too high for her tolerance level. "The dose given was too high, there was no escalation to her care until the following morning," Ms Gebert said. "Heather's death could have been prevented." A doctor's prescription of Suboxone - a buprenorphine used to treat opioid dependence - the day before she was found unconscious was "inappropriate and lacked careful consideration", she said. Ms Calgaret's sister Suzzane, who was housed with her at the prison, found her struggling to breathe on the morning of November 23, 2021. She shook Ms Calgaret to let her know it was time for the daily count, but her younger sister was not moving. A "code black" was called and she was taken to hospital where she died four days later. Outside court, Suzzane welcomed the findings but said it should not have taken her sister's death for changes to be made to the prison system. "I hope they just have learned from this because it's taken my sister's life, my mum's daughter's life," she said. "There's a reason now for her passing, and that reason has been justified by the outcome, but it doesn't bring her back." Ms Gebert issued several recommendations, including that the justice system implement community-based Aboriginal health care inside the women's prison. She said women who give birth in custody should be given additional care, including psychological treatment if their babies are removed from them. She also found "numerous issues" with the parole application process, including a lack of transparency in the prison and that Aboriginal people were disproportionately impacted by lack of available treatment. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
SBS Australia
03-07-2025
- SBS Australia
Unit 18 'soul-destroying' for children imprisoned, says coroner
WARNING: This article discusses self-harm and suicide and contains distressing content and the name of an Aboriginal person who has died. Everything must be done to ensure another child doesn't die in youth detention, a coroner has told an inquest for an Indigenous teenager who fatally self-harmed while in custody. Yamatji boy Cleveland Dodd, 16, was found unresponsive inside a cell in Unit 18, a youth wing of the high-security adult facility Casuarina Prison in Perth, in the early hours of October 12, 2023. Cleveland was taken to hospital in a critical condition and died a week later, causing outrage and grief in the community. It led to a long-running inquest that started in April 2024, with coroner Philip Urquhart saying he might recommend for Unit 18 to be closed, as he delivered his preliminary findings on Tuesday. "There can be no doubt the evidence from the inquest revealed that youth justice had been a crisis at the time of Cleveland's death and had been for some time," he told the coroner's court. The coroner indicated he might recommend the justice department no longer oversee the youth justice estate. He is considering calling for a special inquiry under the Public Sector Management Act into how Unit 18 came to be established in mid-2022. "Everything must be done to minimise the risk of another death of a child in youth detention," Mr Urquhart said. The coroner said evidence supported findings the justice department had failed to properly supervise Cleveland before he fatally harmed himself. He found staff failed to wear radios as per department policy, Cleveland was confined to his cell for excessive amounts of time and the teen's cell was in a condition that enabled him to self-harm. The department had accepted many failings, including staff not following policies and procedures and Cleveland's lack of access to running water in his cell, Mr Urquhart said. He pointed to extensive evidence Cleveland was not receiving adequate mental health and therapeutic support, education, recreation and "access to fresh air". "There is much evidence to suggest that these needs of Cleveland were not adequately met," he said. Staff described the "appalling conditions in which the young people were being detained" and the "chaotic operating environment" at Unit 18, with some saying it was a "war zone", Mr Urquhart said as he recapped some of the evidence. "They described the soul-destroying daily confinement orders which kept detainees in their cells, sometimes for 24 hours a day," he said. "They described the lack of support and training given to them to do their jobs and they described the chronic shortage of staff." The coroner revisited evidence heard about the establishment of Unit 18, as he made a case for a special inquiry after the department and some other counsel made submissions it was beyond the jurisdiction of the court. He said further adverse findings against the department and individuals would be confined to actions taken or not taken in Unit 18 and matters connected to Cleveland's death. He said examples of these would be what staff did after Cleveland covered his in-cell observation camera and the damage in his unit that enabled him to harm himself. The inquest previously heard Cleveland self-harmed about 1.35am. At 1.51am, an officer opened his cell door and at 1.54am a red alert was issued as staff tried to revive the teen. Paramedics arrived at 2.06am but did not get access to Cleveland, who was found to be in cardiac arrest, for nine minutes. The teen was partially revived and taken to hospital but suffered a brain injury becauise of a lack of oxygen. Cleveland died, surrounded by his family, on October 19, 2023. Lifeline 13 11 14
