Dr. Fiona O'Reilly:

Senator Burke raised a case. Obviously, we would have to hold a case conference to examine a case and determine the appropriate treatment, but I believe that the Senator might be alluding to a certain matter. The fearful backlash from what we learned about what we did wrong with asylums has sent us to the other extreme. Sometimes, this means not providing protected care in institution-like, but appropriate, facilities that can look after people who do not have the capacity to look after themselves.

A proposal that has been on the table from both of our groups for a decade is that of an intermediate care centre, something that is between a hostel and a hospital and would look after the needs of people who do not necessarily have a home but for whom a hospital is not appropriate either. Being terrified of past mistakes involving institutions, we sometimes shy away from handling situations in which people do not have the capacity to look after themselves.