The death of a person after a reported nine-hour wait in Waikato Hospital’s emergency department has increased scrutiny amid growing pressures on the public health system, with community health leader Lady Tūreiti Moxon saying the tragedy will be felt far beyond the hospital walls.
Moxon said the loss would be deeply felt by the deceased’s whānau, hospital staff and those who witnessed the incident.
“It will be huge on everyone around them. Because I understand that there are people who were there who witnessed this.”
“As much as people might try to do things faster and get people through quicker, more quickly, the system is so jammed up that it really needs to be changed.”
Witnesses have begun recounting what they saw inside the emergency department. Hospital staff are understood to have attempted to resuscitate the patient but were unable to save their life.
Moxon, the managing director of Te Kōhao Health, said long waits in emergency departments were not uncommon, recalling a personal experience waiting 14 hours with her daughter, who was suffering from appendicitis.
“I’ve sat in ED, and it’s been chock-a-block, three o’clock in the morning, for 14 hours. Someone else who was sitting there had been there for 17 hours,” she said.
Family offered support
On Tuesday, Health Minister Simeon Brown announced an urgent clinical review into the death. Brown said the review would examine the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine whether any changes were needed to help prevent a similar tragedy.
On Wednesday, the Minister said the family involved was receiving support.
“I have also sought assurances from Health NZ that they have been in touch with the family and are providing the support that is needed,” he said.
Moxon said while frontline staff were doing their best, they were working under immense pressure, particularly during winter when hospitals face increased demand.
“Any loss of life tragically like this is always going to cause ripples and the impact of that is going to be huge on the whānau.”
Māori health leaders respond
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board, representing more than 121,000 Māori across the Tainui waka rohe, has also extended its condolences to the whānau.
The board says no whānau should experience the trauma of losing a loved one while waiting for emergency care, and that every patient deserves timely, safe and dignified treatment.
IMPB co-chair and Hauraki PHO chair Glen Tupuhi said the focus must be on understanding why the system failed and ensuring it does not happen again. He noted the Health Quality & Safety Commission Te Tāhū Hauora had already identified Māori adverse-event harm as a systemic issue.
“This must be about more than one tragic event. We know many of our rurally based whānau across the region have the added stress of travel to Kirikiriroa and wait times.”
“Our community deserves confidence that emergency departments are safe, adequately resourced and able to provide timely care when people need it most.”
