We begin with a warning; this story discusses incidents of self-harm and contains the name and images of an Indigenous person who has died. A nurse from WA’s nurse from the troubled Unit 18 has given an emotional apology to Cleveland’s Dodd’s family, as a coronial inquest examines the circumstances of his death. The inquest has heard it is virtually impossible to ensure of at-risk detainees in the unit, and revelations some inside Unit 18 didn’t have any access to recreational spaces.
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TVTranscript
00:00 An apologetic nurse broke down on the stand.
00:06 Miss Bain cried as she read out a letter in court dedicated to Cleveland's family, describing
00:11 Unit 18 as a leaky boat.
00:14 No matter how much you patch it up, it's destined to sink.
00:18 What happened on the night of the 11th and the 12th of October was a complete tragedy.
00:23 And I'd like to say to the family that I'm so sorry for your loss.
00:28 Miss Mum said thank you for your words.
00:30 How did that make you feel?
00:33 Happy.
00:35 Outside the court, Cleveland's family asked for another apology.
00:39 Our state need to come and say sorry to us.
00:41 That's all I want.
00:42 Then I'll go home.
00:44 Miss Bain's evidence highlighted the sheer volume of self-harm and suicide threats made
00:49 by detainees at Unit 18.
00:51 She believes everyone in custody there should be managed as at-risk youth.
00:56 Commissioner Philip Urquhart put to Miss Bain the unit's infrastructure, staffing levels
01:00 and various other factors have rendered that care virtually impossible since the unit was
01:06 created.
01:07 The inquest previously heard that staff felt pressured into taking last-minute shifts at
01:12 Unit 18 without being prepared.
01:15 Now it's been told that senior staff have also been put on duty without training.
01:21 Unit manager Christina Mitchell told the inquest she asked for training before her first ever
01:26 deployment to Unit 18 as a senior officer, but didn't receive any.
01:31 The council assisting Anthony Crocker put to her that it was literally a baptism of
01:36 fire.
01:37 Ms Mitchell agreed and said "It was literally on fire the day I turned up."
01:42 The unit manager told the inquest she understood why detainees rioted and acted out.
01:47 She described Unit 18 as "soul-destroying" with some detainees only allowed out of their
01:52 cells for an hour every few days, but could only spend their time walking up and down
01:59 their cell wing.
02:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]