Sydney:
An 11-year-old girl was restrained, injected with anti-psychotic drugs, and placed in a mental health ward after New Zealand police mistook her for a missing woman, according to a report released on Wednesday.
Health officials and police have rushed to explain the mix-up, which has shocked political leaders and sparked widespread outrage across the country.
The girl, who has "limited verbal ability," was crossing a bridge in Hamilton, a city in northern New Zealand, when a passing police car mistakenly identified her as a missing 20-year-old female hospital patient, the review stated.
Police took the girl to a hospital, where she was admitted to an "intensive psychiatric care unit" despite one nurse noting that she "resembled a child."
"Patient A lives with a disability that means she was not able to tell people about herself," said the Ministry of Health review, referring to the girl.
After refusing to take medication offered by staff, the girl was restrained and injected with anti-psychotic drugs, which are "rarely administered to children."
"Staff were working on the assumption that they were administering medication to an adult, not a child," the review of the March 9 incident revealed.
The girl spent over 12 hours in the hospital before police realized their mistake and contacted her family to pick her up.
"I just wish to start by apologizing to this young person and her family for the trauma and distress that was caused," said senior health official Richard Sullivan.
"This report is a frank read. But it is necessary to make sure this doesn’t happen again."
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon launched an investigation last week when the incident came to light.
"That is incredibly distressing and incredibly concerning," he said.
"As a parent, you identify with what is a horrific set of circumstances. I have massive amounts of empathy for her and her family."
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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