Latest news with #Manawatū
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Intern pharmacist suspended after two-month-old Bellamere Arwyn Duncan dies following overdose
Bellamere Duncan died at Starship Hospital on July 19. Photo: Supplied Warning: This story has details of the death of an infant An intern pharmacist has been suspended by the Pharmacy Council following the death of a two-month-old baby who was allegedly given medication at an adult dosage . RNZ earlier revealed Bellamere Arwyn Duncan died at Starship Hospital on 19 July. The two-month-old was allegedly given an adult dosage of phosphate by a Manawatū pharmacy. A Coroner's preliminary opinion is she died from phosphate toxicity. The revelations have prompted the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand to "urgently" undertake a joint review into the incident with Medsafe visiting the pharmacy to ensure it was safe to continue operating. The Pharmacy Council, which was also investigating, said it's "clear that an awful error has occurred". Bellamere's parents are calling for a law change that would make it mandatory for medication to be checked by two people before it is dispensed. RNZ can now reveal a pharmacist who works at the Manawatū pharmacy had since been suspended by the Pharmacy Council and was not entitled to practice. The Pharmacy Council register lists the pharmacist's scope of practice as an intern. Do you know more? Email The Council's website said an intern pharmacist practises under the supervision of a practising registered pharmacist "acts as a medicines manager, providing patient-centred medication therapy management, health improvement and disease prevention services in a collaborative environment". "Intern pharmacists ensure safe and quality use of medicines and optimise health outcomes by contributing to patient assessment and to the selection, prescribing, monitoring and evaluation of medicine therapy." Bellamere Duncan's parents were allegedly given an adult dosage of phosphate by the pharmacy. Photo: Supplied In a statement to RNZ Pharmacy Council Chief Executive Michael Pead said whenever the Pharmacy Council received a notification of an incident, they began an "initial enquiry" to assess the situation. "At the start of any enquiry, our focus is on ensuring there is no further risk to public safety. There are many ways to achieve this, including suspension of the pharmacist or pharmacists involved or a voluntary agreement that the individual/s will stop working." In order to ensure the inquiry into Bellamere's death was "fair and thorough", and to avoid pre-empting any findings, the council could not provide any further details. "We can confirm that the Pharmacy Council is comfortable that immediate steps have been taken to prevent the risk of further harm while the enquiry is ongoing." The owner of the Manawatū pharmacy that dispensed the medication earlier said in a statement to RNZ the baby's death was "a tragedy". "Our sympathy is with the family and whānau. This is a very difficult time. "We are looking into what has happened to try to understand how this took place. There will also be external reviews which we will work with." RNZ asked the owner how the medication was given at the wrong dosage, whether they disputed the allegations, when the pharmacy became aware the wrong dosage had been given, and what confidence people could have about other medication received from the pharmacy. Bellamere Duncan's parents are calling for a law change that would make it mandatory for medication to be checked by two people before it is dispensed. Photo: 123RF The owner said the pharmacy was "devastated about what has happened and are investigating to find out how this occurred". "It is not appropriate to comment further at this stage." On Thursday, a Pharmacy Council spokesperson said the Council was looking into "what went wrong, how it went wrong, and who was involved". "However, in order to ensure our enquiry is fair and thorough, and to avoid pre-empting any findings, we cannot provide any further details at this stage. "At the end of the process, we will make any recommended changes to ensure as best as possible an event like this does not happen again." While in hospital Bellamere's mum, Tempest Puklowski gave Bellamere her drops for Vitamin D. Nurses also administered her phosphate. When they left hospital they were given some Vitamin D in a little bottle, and a prescription for iron and Vitamin D. The following day Bellamere's father, Tristan Duncan went to a Manawatū pharmacy with the prescriptions. He was given the iron, but said the pharmacy refused to give the Vitamin D as the staff thought the dosage was "too high for her age and her weight". The staff said they would call the neonatal unit and follow-up. A few days later Puklowski received a call from the unit to organise a home care visit. During the call she was asked if she had any concerns, and Puklowski asked if they had been contacted about the Vitamin D. They had not, and said they would follow up and rewrite the prescription along with a prescription for phosphate. A day after the phone call, on July 2, Duncan went to the pharmacy to collect the medication and came home with just the phosphate. Unbeknown to the parents they had allegedly been given an adult dosage of phosphate. The label on the medication directed them to dissolve one 500mg tablet of phosphate twice daily in a glass of water. That evening they gave Bellamere her first dose of the medicine in her formula water. They would give her three bottles in 24 hours as was recommended. The couple noticed in that period that her eating was off, and thought she was "extra gassy," Puklowski said. "She was still feeding fine. She just wasn't maybe going through a whole bottle compared to what she was," she recalled. Then, the day after she got her first dosage Bellamere suddenly stopped breathing. Bellamere was taken to hospital and rushed to the emergency department. Once she was stabilised she was taken to the neonatal unit where she stayed overnight before she was flown to Starship Hospital. The couple had taken a bottle of the medicine with them to Starship Hospital. She gave it to the staff who saw that they had been given an adult dose. The staff then requested the original prescription which confirmed the script had been written with the correct dosage, but somehow the pharmacy had given the wrong dosage Puklowski said. "I keep thinking about how much she ended up having and it just makes me feel sick." Tragically, Bellamere died at Starship Hospital on July 19. On Wednesday, a Ministry of Health spokesperson told RNZ there were a number of investigations underway. "Medsafe has completed an urgent assessment and is comfortable there is no immediate patient safety issue at the pharmacy. Medsafe will continue to work with Health New Zealand and these findings which will inform the information provided to the Coroner. Medsafe is also sharing information with the Pharmacy Council. "Once these reviews are completed, we will be able to look at next steps." Health Minister Simeon Brown told RNZ on Monday he raised the incident with the Director-General of Health as soon as he was made aware. "She assured me that there would be an investigation undertaken by both the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand. That investigation is underway. "I am advised that this incident has led to Medsafe undertaking an urgent assessment of the pharmacy. A further investigation is being undertaken by the Pharmacy Council, and the death is also the subject of a Coroner's inquest." Health agencies would provide information to the coroner as needed to support the inquest. "It is important that the reviews are undertaken, and that the circumstances that led to this incident are understood. I expect that these investigations may propose recommendations, and that these will be reviewed once reports are complete." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
4 days ago
- Sport
- Scoop
New Zealand Davis Cup Team Announced Ahead Of Tie Against Georgia
New Zealand has named their five-strong Davis Cup team to take on Georgia in the upcoming tie. The team consists of Ajeet Rai, Finn Reynolds, Jack Loutit, Isaac Becroft and James Watt. New Zealand number one Ajeet Rai has the most Davis Cup selections from the young squad, with this being his 11th appointment. New Zealand doubles specialist Finn Reynolds, currently ranked at an impressive #121 in the world, gets the greenlight for the 6th time, alongside Jack Loutit who has proved a considerable contender against higher ranked opponents at his last two Davis Cup outings. Isaac Becroft gets his third call-up into the team, while Cantabrian James Watt has earned his first selection. 'I'm super excited to represent New Zealand for the first time,' Watt said, in a video to New Zealand tennis fans. 'It's been a dream of mine to be selected for the Davis Cup team. Now it's my time, it's a pretty cool feeling.' James Watt has shot up the rankings in both singles and doubles over the last few months, creating a successful pairing on the ATP Challenger Tour with fellow Davis Cup team member Finn Reynolds. Since they began playing together in March, James has climbed an impressive 184 places in the world rankings, and is now the world #135. The World Group II clash will take place on 13-14 September, and will mark the second time in a row Fly Palmy Arena will host the World Cup of Tennis, following a sellout weekend last year where New Zealand suffered a narrow defeat to Luxembourg. New Zealand's non-playing Davis Cup captain Artem Sitak will lead the squad once again, having made his captaincy debut last year in Palmerston North. Sitak brings years of international experience and a deep connection to the Davis Cup environment as a former player. 'We've got unfinished business in Palmy. Last year the atmosphere was incredible, and we were so close, but this year I know we'll give even more and get the right result for the Manawatū fans,' Sitak said. Day one features two singles matches, day two features the doubles match and reverse singles matches. Tickets are now on sale via
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Clinical director supports law change calls after two-month-old dies
Bellamere Duncan died at Starship Hospital on 19 July. Photo: Supplied Warning: This story has details of the death of an infant. A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) clinical director is supporting calls for a law change mandating medication be checked by two people before it's dispensed following the death of a two-month old baby after she was allegedly given medication at an adult dosage by a pharmacy. A member of the national executive of the Pharmaceutical Society agreed a change is needed, but said pharmacists need to be better resourced, adding the New Zealand pharmacy workforce "is in crisis". RNZ revealed Bellamere Arwyn Duncan died at Starship Hospital on 19 July. The two-month-old was allegedly given an adult dosage of phosphate by a Manawatū pharmacy. A coroner's preliminary opinion is she died from phosphate toxicity. The revelations have prompted the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand to "urgently" undertake a joint review into the incident with Medsafe visiting the pharmacy to ensure they are safe to continue operating. The Pharmacy Council, which is also investigating, said it's "clear that an awful error has occurred". Bellamere's parents are calling for a law change that would make it mandatory for medication to be checked by two people before it is dispensed. Do you know more? Email University of Otago's Dr Jason Wister, a Senior Medical Officer neonatologist and Dunedin Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) clinical director, told RNZ he was in favour of the suggested law change. "I would be very supportive of that. That is the policy that we have in the NICU. I think that's fairly standard practice within NICUs, that all medications require two people to check them before dispensing. "It seems like that would be a safe, low-risk, high-reward situation that would take very little time and effort to mandate." Dr Wister said phosphate was "well known" as a potential for toxicity, especially in infants with "significant morbidity and mortality associated with it". Bellamere Duncan's parents were allegedly given an adult dosage of phosphate by the pharmacy. Photo: Supplied The medication was prescribed for preterm infants for their bone health and bone growth, he said, and a safe dose for a baby would depend on its weight. The label on the medication Bellamere was given directed her parents to dissolve one 500mg tablet of phosphate twice daily in a glass of water. Her parents gave her three bottles in 24 hours as had been recommended, totalling 1500mg. Dr Wister said the total amount she received would have resulted in a "massive overdose". "With regards to the effect of the phosphate toxicity, it would most likely be due to causing hypocalcemia (low calcium). "Phosphorus and calcium are in balance. As phosphorus increases, calcium decreases. An abrupt increase in phosphorus levels could have led to severe hypocalcemia which can cause seizures, muscle stiffening, cardiac arrhythmia, and laryngospasms." Lanny Wong a pharmacist, director of Mangawhai Pharmacy and a member of the national executive of the Pharmaceutical Society told Checkpoint Bellamere's death was "devastating" and she supported a "full, transparent investigation so the lesson can be learned from this tragedy". Wong said dispensing medicine like phosphate was "not a routine process" for a community pharmacy. "It is considered quite a complex process, require precise calculations, specialist knowledge and full attention." She said phosphate was given in a dispersible tablet. "It does require the pharmacist to have full attention to do the calculation, and sometimes to cross check the dose against the weight of the baby and with the prescriber before the dispensing go out." Wong said she was "fortunate" she had multiple pharmacists in her pharmacy, and had her prescriptions checked by another pharmacist if she was doing a "complex dispensing". Asked if there needed to be changes mandating a second check, she said there did, but said pharmacists needed better support. "I think it needs to change, but to change it, we need to be well resourced. We need to be well funded, and we need to be supported. That's what we need. But at the moment, we're simply not supported - let's just be frank, New Zealand pharmacy workforce is in crisis." Wong said New Zealand had 7.95 pharmacists for every 10,000 people compared to 9.3 in Australia, 9.1 in the United Kingdom and 9.6 in the USA. "So we are absolutely stretched. So our number do matter. There's a lower density of pharmacist means there's more pressure on people, longer working hours, reduced rate, and all the vital safety check has been compressed at the moment. "And on top of that, pharmacies are acting like a shock absorber as well for the rest of the primary health system. You know, for people that can't see GP, they're actually going to go see their pharmacist. And, you know, and the government wanting us to do more vaccinations and our jobs is becoming more complex, but we haven't received the funding or the support to help us do this." Bellamere was flown to Starship Hospital after she suddenly stopped breathing. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly On Monday, a police spokesperson confirmed to RNZ police were undertaking inquiries on behalf of the coroner. If police detected any criminality then it would be up to the coroner to decide if they paused their inquiry while police carried out further investigations. Health Minister Simeon Brown told RNZ on Monday he raised the incident with the Director-General of Health as soon as he was made aware. "She assured me that there would be an investigation undertaken by both the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand. That investigation is underway. "I am advised that this incident has led to Medsafe undertaking an urgent assessment of the pharmacy. A further investigation is being undertaken by the Pharmacy Council, and the death is also the subject of a Coroner's inquest." Health agencies would provide information to the coroner as needed to support the inquest. "It is important that the reviews are undertaken, and that the circumstances that led to this incident are understood. I expect that these investigations may propose recommendations, and that these will be reviewed once reports are complete." Labour health spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall said in a statement to RNZ she was "horrified" to hear of Bellamere's death. "I will follow the outcome of the review closely to see if there are opportunities to stop this from happening again." A Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) spokesperson said the Pharmacy Council had notified HDC of the incident as was required under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act. "HDC has referred this complaint back to the Pharmacy Council to manage as we consider they are best placed to address the issues raised." The Pharmacy Council said they were unable to comment further when asked by RNZ on Monday whether they supported calls for a law change. "Our enquiry and investigation processes are currently underway and, until these are complete, we cannot provide any further details. At the end of the process, we will make any recommended changes to ensure as best as possible an event like this does not happen again." Pharmac's director equity and engagement, Dr Nicola Ngawati told RNZ medicine doses for children were generally worked out based on the child's weight. "And so many formulations for children are oral liquids to allow for accurate dosing. These oral liquids may also be more suitable for certain adults, for example, people who are unable to swallow tablets. "Whether or not a medicine is manufactured in an oral liquid formulation is a commercial decision for pharmaceutical companies." Pharmac was always happy to consider funding medicines in an oral liquid form, one of our factors for consideration is suitability," Dr Ngawati said. Pharmac says medicine doses for children are generally worked out based on the child's weight. Photo: While in hospital Bellamere's mum, Tempest Puklowski gave Bellamere her drops for Vitamin D. Nurses also administered her phosphate. When they left hospital they were given some Vitamin D in a little bottle, and a prescription for iron and Vitamin D. The following day Bellamere's father, Tristan Duncan went to a Manawatū pharmacy with the prescriptions. He was given the iron, but said the pharmacy refused to give the Vitamin D as the staff thought the dosage was "too high for her age and her weight". The staff said they would call the neonatal unit and follow-up. A few days later Puklowski received a call from the unit to organise a home care visit. During the call she was asked if she had any concerns, and Puklowski asked if they had been contacted about the Vitamin D. They had not, and said they would follow up and rewrite the prescription along with a prescription for phosphate. A day after the phone call, on 2 July, Duncan went to the pharmacy to collect the medication and came home with just the phosphate. Unbeknown to the parents they had allegedly been given an adult dosage of phosphate. The label on the medication directed them to dissolve one 500mg tablet of phosphate twice daily in a glass of water. That evening they gave Bellamere her first dose of the medicine in her formula water. They would give her three bottles in 24 hours as was recommended. The couple noticed in that period that her eating was off, and thought she was "extra gassy," Puklowski said. "She was still feeding fine. She just wasn't maybe going through a whole bottle compared to what she was," she recalled. Then, the day after she got her first dosage Bellamere suddenly stopped breathing. Bellamere was taken to hospital and rushed to the emergency department. Once she was stabilised she was taken to the neonatal unit where she stayed overnight before she was flown to Starship Hospital. The couple had taken a bottle of the medicine with them to Starship Hospital. She gave it to the staff who saw that they had been given an adult dose. The staff then requested the original prescription which confirmed the script had been written with the correct dosage, but somehow the pharmacy had given the wrong dosage Puklowski said. "I keep thinking about how much she ended up having and it just makes me feel sick." Tragically, Bellamere died at Starship Hospital on 19 July. The couple are adamant they want changes to the system for giving out medication. "It's the sort of thing that can't really be overlooked," Puklowski said. "There needs to be something better in effect, rather than just relying on one person to make sure you're getting the right prescription, having at least a few eyes." The owner of the Manawatū pharmacy that dispensed the medication said in a statement to RNZ the baby's death was "a tragedy". "Our sympathy is with the family and whānau. This is a very difficult time. "We are looking into what has happened to try to understand how this took place. There will also be external reviews which we will work with." RNZ asked the owner how the medication was given at the wrong dosage, whether they disputed the allegations, when the pharmacy became aware the wrong dosage had been given, and what confidence people could have about other medication received from the pharmacy. The owner said the pharmacy was "devastated about what has happened and are investigating to find out how this occurred". "It is not appropriate to comment further at this stage." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
19-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Vigilance, not luck, helping NZ avoid widespread measles outbreak
A paediatrician specialising in infectious diseases says the increase in measles cases in the lower North Island is an unfortunate example of just how infectious it is. The current outbreak in Wairarapa and Manawatū reached eight cases on Thursday. Health NZ says the cases stemmed from overseas travel. Dr Emma Best from the Immunisation Advisory Centre said measles "seeks out" people and young children who were not immunised. "If you're not immune to measles, and you are in the space of somebody who has measles or doesn't know they're getting measles, there's a very, very high chance that you will get measles," she said. "The spread, the fact that the close contacts of the returned traveller sequentially... we're getting more cases, is unfortunately expected." With outbreaks in Canada, Australia, parts of the United States and southeast Asia, Best said it was important overseas travellers were vaccinated against measles. Auckland also saw a measles outbreak earlier in the winter . Best said vigilance, not luck, meant New Zealand had avoided an outbreak on the scale of other countries so far. "We've been incredibly vigilant, which is great, and really carefully managing this should there be any single cases that occur, but actually, this has got away from most other countries in the world. "We know that it's out there, so with any traveller or returned traveller from pretty much any region in the world now, there's going to be some risk. "New Zealand is working incredibly hard to keep ourselves safe from measles, and that primarily starts with making sure we vaccinate our own population really well and making sure that anyone who travels know they need to be vaccinated, including infants younger than one." In New Zealand, babies typically received their first measles vaccine (MMR) at 12 months of age and the second at 15 months, but Best said young infants travelling abroad could receive the vaccine to protect them before they go away. It was "really stressful and concerning" to see people in hospital with diseases, such as measles, that there were vaccinations for, she added. "Most people want the best for their kids, they want to get vaccinations, they want to have conversations about it. We have got poor rates of vaccinations since Covid, but we're working extra hard to get the message out there." Anyone travelling overseas with a young child needed to make sure they had all their vaccinations. "Definitely having a conversation about the measles vaccination, which we can give early in the context of travel, means we can give it to younger than one year of age to protect an infant who's going on a plane, in transit, those types of thing. "Prepare yourself for travel and stay vigilant when you return for measles-type rashes as well." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Three more cases of measles detected in Wairarapa and Manawatū, bringing total to eight
The patients have been in quarantine, but one may have been infectious before this. (File photo) Photo: 123rf Another three cases of measles have been detected in the lower North Island, taking the latest outbreak to eight . Two of the latest cases in Wairarapa and one in Manawatū, were connected to the others in Wairarapa and stemmed from overseas travel, Health NZ said. The patients had been in quarantine, however, it was believed one person may have been briefly infectious beforehand. Health NZ had identified six new locations in Feilding that the potentially infectious person visited last Friday, Medical Officer of Health Craig Thornley said. The risk to the public was considered low, because the visits were brief, he said. "We are however advising anyone who may have visited the Feilding locations at the same times as the case to monitor themselves for symptoms, such as a high fever, cough, runny nose, sore eyes or a rash that spreads down the body." The new locations of interest are: "If anyone is concerned, they may have symptoms, or needs advice, they should contact their GP or usual healthcare provider or call Healthline on 0800 611 116 for free support and advice 24/7," Thornley said. Measles symptoms usually start within 10 to 14 days after being first exposed to the virus, but can start anytime between seven to 21 days. The rash develops three to four days after the other symptoms and appears as pink or red spots or bumps which start on the face before moving down the rest of the body. The rash is not usually itchy, but can last for a week or more. Thornley said the best protection against measles was vaccination. "The best form of protection against measles is to get vaccinated with two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine after 12 months of age, which is safe and effective for 99 per cent of people." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
