A 23-month-old boy died of sepsis after being repeatedly misdiagnosed and discharged despite multiple visits to doctors and hospitals, prompting the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) to find serious breaches of patient rights by Health New Zealand Tairāwhiti and a locum GP.
The child, initially admitted with a high fever and vomiting, was sent home without antibiotics or further investigation, despite his family expressing concern given their remote location.
Over several days, his condition worsened, yet doctors failed to prioritise his care, provide adequate follow-up, or recognise red flags.
The HDC report highlighted systemic and organisational failings, poor communication, and a lack of support for rural families, concluding that confirmation bias led clinicians to persist with a viral illness diagnosis until it was too late.
Health NZ and the PHO have since made changes, with apologies ordered for the whānau.
Image credit: National Cancer Institute (U.S.)
You only have you to look after yourselves,. Never, never never put your trust into anything govt led
Made changes and apology. FFS
This is absolutely appalling. Do doctors ever face consequences? This baby should still be alive! Poor wee thing. So sorry for the family. Totally avoidable and could have been treated with antibiotics……we are really becoming a third world country. 😢
One should understand that a study in medicine is meant as an ” investment” by many middle class children.
It is worth its while, because you have a clients’ guarantee ( never unemployment) as in most ( western) countries the corporation, that looks very well after its own interests, has agreed on a numerus fixus. So just enough doctors to have no concurent.
Incompetents and even criminals can still be part of the (corrupt) corporation as they know very well what collegues are up to and silence is generally imposed by the corporation , on collegues. They behave in this sense like the mafia. And ordinary law is not applied to them, or only very exceptionally.
There is nothing ” romantic” about the medical professions. There chose this profession, except for a very few idealists, to get and have money and they are as hard as nail .