Auckland hospitals in spotlight over infant's care

RNZ News

a day ago

Starship Hospital in Auckland.
Photo:
RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Two Auckland hospitals have become locked in a dispute with a couple over the medical care given to their 15-month-old infant.
Born prematurely, the infant is currently admitted in the paediatric intensive care unit of Starship Hospital, following earlier treatment at Middlemore Hospital.
"Since birth, we have experienced what we believe to be a sustained pattern of medical negligence, poor clinical judgment and dehumanizing treatment by medical staff across both facilities," said Aarti Sarna, the infant's mother.
"These concerns have now culminated in a High Court-ordered guardianship that has stripped us of our rights as parents to make even the most basic medical decisions regarding our child's pain management."
The parents lodged a complaint with the Health and Disability Commission on 5 June.
An HDC spokesperson said the complaint had been assessed and was now closed.
"A referral was made directly to the provider to follow up with the family, as we consider they were best placed to respond to the family's concerns immediately and resolve their questions," the spokesperson said.
"HDC has requested that the provider report back to us on the steps they take to ensure the concerns raised have been appropriately addressed."
Sarna and her husband, Ajar, moved to New Zealand from New Delhi in 2010.
The Sarnas have a 10-year-old daughter in addition to the 15-month-old infant.
All four are New Zealand citizens.
In their complaint to the Health and Disability Commission, the parents outlined a series of allegations against Starship and Middlemore hospitals.
"On 29 April 2024, under coercive pressure from Middlemore Hospital clinicians, [our son] was transferred to Starship Hospital for a bronchoscopy," the parents said.
"We were explicitly told that he would not be discharged unless the procedure was performed. At that time, he was stable and breathing independently without oxygen, even during minor illnesses and aspiration episodes," they said.
"We were not adequately informed of the risks involved, nor offered less-invasive alternatives," they said.
"Following the bronchoscopy, his condition deteriorated significantly. He was intubated and ventilated immediately, and his respiratory health has since worsened. He now requires oxygen even for minor respiratory issues."
The parents alleged they had witnessed multiple instances of "serious clinical negligence and a lack of humane care".
"Soiled diapers not being changed in a timely manner ... painkillers administered unnecessarily ... feeding delays of up to four hours, followed by sedative use to manage resulting distress ... inadequate respiratory care, including insufficient suctioning during visible respiratory distress ... sedation used during nursing shift changes to prevent [our son] from 'interfering' with staff routine, rather than for medical necessity.
"Despite raising these issues repeatedly, we are told that the court guardianship order overrides our concerns."
The Auckland High Court placed the infant under its guardianship on 23 May.
The judge appointed two of the infant's treating physicians "as agents of the High Court for the particular purpose of consenting to the administration of pain medication to [the infant], where the administration of such medication is in accordance with good clinical practice and in [the infant's] best interests as assessed by [the physicians]".
The judge also appointed the parents as general agents of the court for all purposes other than consenting to the administration of pain medication.
The court directed the treating physicians to keep the parents informed at all reasonable times of the nature and progress of the boy's condition and treatment.
The initial guardianship order was put in place until 28 May, which has since been extended until 25 June.
Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.
Photo:
LDR / Jarred Williamson
In an affidavit submitted to the court, the primary physician said the infant had a "profound congenital multisystem disorder" with "no unifying diagnosis".
"[The infant's] prognosis is poor and sadly he is unlikely to survive. This is still the case even with the most aggressive life-prolonging interventions possible," the affidavit said.
"[The infant] needs the immediate administration of pain relief, specifically opiates, alongside any other palliative treatment to provide comfort-orientated care."
The physician said the case had been reviewed by a multi-disciplinary team of 12 health practitioners involved in the infant's care.
"The team also considers that it is not currently [in the infant's] best interests to be intubated," the affidavit said.
"The team acknowledges this conflicts with [the infant's] parents' wishes, however, the team agree that [the infant] has a human right to pain control and comfort."
The parents claimed the affidavit contradicted what doctors had told them after the boy was born.
"Last year, the ENT specialists at the Starship Hospital told us narrow airways - with which my son was born - grow as the child grows. They even commented its reassuring his airway is growing with time," Aarti Sarna said.
"We were told the ENT team believes by the time my son reaches 3 or 4 years of age, he might not need hospital admissions for rhinovirus infections."
In their complaint to the commission, the parents detailed what they called "disturbing attitudes" by medical staff at Starship Hospital.
"Several clinicians have openly and orally told us they are tired of treating [our son]," Sarna said.
"To date, no conclusive diagnosis has been made. Instead, multiple speculative conditions have been listed without supporting evidence.
"We believe [our son] is suffering unnecessarily due to procedural harm and a systemic failure in care and oversight."
The couple claimed the situation had affected the whole family.
"Aarti has remained by our son's side 24/7 since his birth. She is now on extended unpaid leave, and we are surviving on a single income, which is increasingly unsustainable," Ajar said.
"This ongoing situation is forcing us to choose between caring for our critically ill infant and supporting our daughter at home, all while enduring emotional trauma, financial hardship and what we believe to be institutional injustice."
Mike Shepherd, group director of Operations Auckland at Health New Zealand, confirmed the agency had received a complaint from the parents.
"We won't be commenting publicly on individual patient care due to privacy reasons. We acknowledge how distressing it can be for parents with a child in hospital and empathise with what they are going through," Shepherd said.
"We can confirm that we are aware of this complaint and the concerns of this family. Our team are working with the family to address their concerns and optimise the child's treatment plan.
"We are proud to have highly skilled and hard-working clinical teams who are focused on the well-being of all our community and work to provide patients with treatment plans most appropriate for their individual needs.
"As always, we encourage patients and whānau to talk to us directly if they have questions about their or their loved one's care."
On Saturday, the Sarnas launched a petition to get their son what they called "life-saving treatment".
"This fight is about our son ... but it's also about the rights of every parent, every child and every family to access care, not a death sentence, when treatment exists."