Mismanagement And Abuse Of Taman Sinar Harapan Inmates Intolerable: Sec-GenBy: Ramjit
KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 (Bernama)-- The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development is gravely concerned and will not tolerate any mismanagement and abuse of residents at Taman Sinar Harapan, Kuala Kubu Baru (TSH KKB).
The ministry's Secretary-General Tan Sri Faizah Mohd Tahir in a statement Sunday said that the attendants at the shelter were not medical attendants but providers of basic care like bathing, clothing and feeding them."They are not medical attendants like those in hospitals.
Nevertheless, they do their best to residents under their care at any one time," she said.
They have also been given basic training skills to manage residents under their care and refer those who were aggressive or who needed medical attention to nurses or hospitals for treatment or rehabilitation, she added.
Faizah said the institution founded on Jan 4, 1984, was one of the seven institutions under the Department of Social Welfare, catered for providing shelter, care, rehabilitation and training for the disabled.
However, TSH KKB is the only one taking care of those who have severe mental disorder, disabled and untreatable, above the age of 15. The total number of staff manning the institution is 114, with 84 attendants caring for residents, working on three 8-hour shifts.
The institution also has two nurses and two physiotherapists, she said.
The total number of residents in TSH KKB is 22O, of which 18O are bedridden and the rest, 30 male and 10 female, are those with aggressive tendencies.
"They tear off clothing provided for them and blankets are torn to shreds within hours and constantly attacked each other and even the staff.
"They are segregated because of their destructive behavior to themselves and others. Only five percent of them have visitors while the rest have been abandoned by their families and will have to remain institutionalized for the rest of their lives," she said.
She added that the Department of Social Welfare was very grateful to the many volunteers who have been spending their free time with residents at TSH KKB and welcomed others such as medical and mental health experts who can make a significant difference to the quality of life of residents in Taman Sinar Harapan.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil had earlier today directed the ministry to prepare an immediate in-depth report on the matter.
The minister who is currently in Manik Urai, Kelantan, said she would look into the plight of the inmates of Taman Sinar Harapan in Kuala Kubu Baru, Selangor, some of whom were reported to be living in deplorable conditions.
She said she would visit the centre soon and help to improve the conditions, especially for the old and handicapped.
A local English newspaper today reported that the TSH KKB, a government-run shelter home for disabled has instead become a 'horror home' as it claimed that about 30 men from 200 residents comprising men, women and children were naked, chained up and caged.
BERNAMA
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