Cleveland Dodd inquest: Nurse kept diary to process what she’d seen working at ‘disgusting, inhumane’ Unit 18

The nurse on duty on the night Cleveland Dodd fatally self-harmed was so affected by what she’d seen at the notorious Unit 18 that she kept a diary for her “own mental health”, testifying the facility was “inhumane”. Fiona Bain told the 16-year-old’s expedited inquest into his October death that she did not voluntarily hand over the diary written on her work computer to the Corruption and Crime Commission for its separate investigation. Rather, it was “obtained” by the watchdog. Steven Penglis, the barrister for Cleveland’s mother Nadene Dodd, said the diary read as if written by someone “completely overwhelmed”. He said her language included “I’m literally here to pick up the pieces”, descriptions of the high-security unit “like being in a war zone”, with “huge” staff turnover and fewer experienced staff leading to “incidents”. She agreed she wrote it to process what she’d witnessed at work. Ms Bain described the cells as “disgusting” and also agreed with Mr Penglis that some of the boys having no running water in their quarters where they ate and used the toilet was “an appalling state of affairs”. Coroner Phil Urquhart pressed further, asking if she would go so far as to label Unit 18 “inhumane” and she concurred. Ms Bain recalled how she felt the Unit 18 assistant commissioner didn’t listen when he asked her about a plan to put two large shipping containers in the recreation yard to use as office space, freeing up a wing of cells to house more detainees. She questioned the “logistics”, including whether there would be enough staff to manage more detainees in a facility that had no clinical area. The containers blocked a basketball court for eight months and the plan was never implemented, the WA Coroner’s Court was told. “I just shook my head when I saw it,” Ms Bain said. She was asked generally what she would do when a detainee asked to see her - as Cleveland had in his final hours in his cell - replying that she would ask what for first as some boys were just toying with her. And in the early hours of October 12 last year when she heard youth custodial officer Daniel Torrijos walk past “faster than normal” to raise the alarm about the boy, she said she heard him say: “I need (access to his cell). I think Cleveland’s hanging”. She followed others upstairs but it wasn’t until she saw CCTV footage that she realised she turned around and went back to her station to grab vital medical equipment. Asked why she didn’t bring it the first time, Ms Bain responded: “Because I didn’t know what was going on. No code (red) was called. No-one said anything when they went past”. “I was thinking ‘this is a bit weird’,” she told the court. “I knew it was dire, it was an emergency.” Ms Bain also testified that since the tragedy, custodial staff had become far more pro-active responding to detainees covering their in-cell CCTV cameras. Cleveland’s camera had been covered by wet toilet paper for all but 23 seconds of 11 hours that day when it fell off and was promptly replaced by the boy. “Unit 18 ebbs and flows. There’s been changes along the way,” Ms Bain said. “But yes, I guess before October it was a really chaotic place.” In response to questioning by Mr Urquhart, she said there were times when the senior officer had done nothing after youth custodial officers had reported having no CCTV surveillance of detainees, either due to cameras being covered or heavily scratched. He pressed her on whether she had heard senior officers saying words to the effect of “There’s nothing we can do - just leave it”. Ms Bain said she had. Earlier, Mr Urquhart revealed that Cleveland’s incarcerated father Wayne Gentle would receive a letter of apology after Unit 18 authorities failed to send him a handwritten letter that his son had penned for him, dictated to Mr Torrijos, in August. The court only became aware of the correspondence last week. Mr Urquhart said the apology to Mr Gentle, who has been watching the evidence via videolink from Greenough Prison, was “entirely appropriate”. “As to why you never received that letter ... I’ll be wanting answers,” the Coroner said on Monday. “And also why it was not brought to the attention of the court sooner.” Mr Gentle now has a copy of the letter and will be sent the original after the inquest concludes. Mr Urquhart also granted a request by Cleveland’s mother Nadene Dodd to view, in private, body-worn camera footage of him being resuscitated and transported to hospital. Through Mr Penglis, she said she needed it for closure. Mr Urquhart said arrangements would be made for the viewing on Friday, with no other family allowed to attend and ongoing support provided by the court’s counselling services. “You as next of kin have that right,” he said. “It is confronting for someone like me who didn’t know Cleveland, but I understand why you want to do that.” Cleveland had threatened to end his own life eight times that night and had been taken off the At-Risk Management System that assess self-harm prospects days earlier on October 3. He asked for a referral to see a psychologist on October 9 and again twice more the following day but it did not happen “because staff were required to facilitate psychiatrist and official visits”, Mr Penglis said in his opening address. Lifeline 13 11 14