A patient who presented to a busy Christchurch ED left and later died in ICU
Saturday, 22 October 2022
A review is under way after a person who left Christchurch’s busier than usual emergency department later died.
Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury’s chief medical officer Richard French confirmed the patient presented to Christchurch Hospital’s Emergency Department (ED) last Sunday evening and later died in its Intensive Care Unit.
“The patient left the ED and deteriorated shortly after leaving and returned to the ED where they were seen immediately. Sadly, the patient did not respond to medical treatment and died the following day,” he said.
A formal review of the care provided to the person was under way.
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French said the ED was very busy during this period which meant wait times were longer than usual.
“Our heartfelt sympathies remain with the whānau at this difficult time.”
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Figures released under the Official Information Act show the percentage of people being admitted to hospital within six hours of presenting to Christchurch’s ED fell from 90% in the three months to July 2019 to 68% in the same period in 2022.
It fell from 88% to 68% in Auckland and variances across the country ranged from as low as 29% in MidCentral and as high as 89% in Tairāwhiti in the three months to July 2022.
In June, a woman died after leaving Middlemore Hospital emergency department because of long waits, sparking an “urgent” investigation which revealed the patient was not assessed amid high patient demand.
The 51-year-old woman suffered a brain haemorrhage hours after first arriving at the emergency department. Her death could have been prevented if she was seen, a Middlemore Hospital emergency doctor said.
A coroner blasted Canterbury District Health Board in 2017 when a dying man was discharged to a bus stop wearing pyjamas because Christchurch Hospital staff felt he was a 'nuisance' and 'faking' his illness.
Neil David Jones, 47, then lay on the footpath for six hours while members of the public tried to get doctors to help him. He was eventually trespassed from the hospital and taken to a shelter, where he vomited blood.
An ambulance took him back to hospital, where he died two days later.