00:02Coram Nash was a long-term patient at a mental health hospital in Orange, but eight months
00:08after being released, he would be charged with murder, accused of bashing 74-year-old
00:13Kwong Mi Pham to death in Sydney's west.
00:16The revelations today that the alleged perpetrator has been a mental health patient does raise
00:22some questions and some concerns about what the processes were in place.
00:27Mr Ash had been living in supported accommodation in Sydney's north-west at the time of the alleged
00:33attack.
00:34That same day, he was detained in a citizen's arrest after allegedly assaulting a 54-year-old
00:40woman at a medical centre.
00:41In a statement, Acting Mental Health Minister Steve Wan said the state government was urgently
00:46reviewing the man's clinical care, adding community safety is their top priority and they will
00:52act quickly.
00:53There needs to be an independent inquiry into this matter as an urgent priority for the
00:58government because unfortunately this isn't an isolated incident.
01:02In unrelated cases earlier this year, two patients absconded from Cumberland Hospital before allegedly
01:08being involved in incidents that left three people dead.
01:12I think that the complexity of mental illness and mental health problems in general mean
01:18that we really need a whole range of different opportunities for people that match their needs.
01:25The state's top psychiatrist believes the system does its best.
01:30There's always more that we could do but you know we have a full range of services right
01:36from acute and emergency services, inpatient services, community-based services.
01:44Mr. Ash will face court in September.
01:46There's always more that I've got into combat for a secondary companies that could not be
01:50are prepared for a secondary changes.
01:50Woman, At that point to
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