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From reporter Debbie Jamieson:
A teenager ended up in the intensive care unit in Dunedin with pneumonia after being made to wait in a portable building outside Queenstown’s locked hospital for three hours.
Her distraught mother Sunitha Karunakaran said watching her 18-year-old daughter … View moreFrom reporter Debbie Jamieson:
A teenager ended up in the intensive care unit in Dunedin with pneumonia after being made to wait in a portable building outside Queenstown’s locked hospital for three hours.
Her distraught mother Sunitha Karunakaran said watching her 18-year-old daughter struggle to breathe in the cold unit on the night of October 25 was one of the worst moments of her life.
Hospital staff had been advised of the seriousness of the girl’s condition before her arrival following blood tests at the privately-owned Queenstown Medical Centre, Karunakaran said.
However, they put her in the external building, which had a bed and small kitchen, while they dealt with other patients.
As her daughter’s condition deteriorated, several attempts to get attention from hospital staff using a buzzer outside the locked hospital were ignored, Karunakaran said.
With another child at home alone, as her husband was in Malaysia visiting family, and no indication they would see a doctor soon, the pair left the hospital at 11pm.
“I was feeling absolutely helpless all night seeing my girl suffering and unable to breathe,” she said.
The next morning staff at Queenstown Medical Centre sent her daughter, who Stuff has agreed not to name, back to the hospital in an ambulance.
Her oxygen level was down to 20%, she had a fever of 38.7C and was coughing uncontrollably.
She was put on an Otago Rescue Helicopter and sent to Dunedin Hospital where she was diagnosed with bacterial strep pneumonia affecting both lungs and spent three days in ICU.
Once stable she was moved to the general ward for the remainder of the week.
Karunakaran said the episode was “extremely distressing”.
“If [the hospital staff] had seen us that night then my daughter wouldn’t have got to the point of almost losing her life.”
Her daughter now faces a six-week recovery period and was forced to miss her last week of high school and the opportunity to apply for scholarships and complete work for assessments.
“I understand that they don’t have staff, but they don’t need to be rude,” she said.
“When I rang the bell so many times to say she’s struggling to breathe, they just ignored us. That’s the hardest part.”
Despite Karunakaran and her daughter providing a written statement waiving their rights to privacy, an unnamed Te Whatu Ora southern spokesperson declined to discuss the case.
“Te Whatu Ora does not comment on individual patients and their care for privacy reasons,” a written statement said.
It said emergency departments were currently very busy, and patients were triaged with the sickest patients seen first.
The portable building at Lakes District Hospital was used as a dedicated space for patients presenting with cold and flu symptoms who needed to be isolated, the spokesperson said.
“Patients who are allocated to this waiting space are checked and assessed regularly.”
That was not the case on the night of October 25, Karunakaran said.
Prior to their arrival at Lakes District Hospital staff had been aware of her daughter’s condition by doctors at Queenstown Medical Centre.
Her daughter had spent the day at the medical centre on an IV before going home at 6pm.
At 7pm the doctor called the family to advise blood tests revealed the teenager’s white and red blood cell counts were concerning, and she needed to go immediately to hospital.
Staff at the hospital confirmed they had spoken with the medical centre, that the situation was "urgent" and that her daughter would be seen soon, Karunakaran said.
They were told to wait in one of the two rooms in the portable building.
"It was too cold out there, but we were just ignored and told we had to wait as there were other patients who were more ill that arrived in an ambulance," she said.
She saw other patients arrive by car and be given access to the waiting room during that time.
Nurses had provided paracetamol, a Covid-19 test (which was negative), and a blanket, after Karunakaran begged for it.
When her daughter left in a helicopter to Dunedin the next day, Karunakaran had to remain in Queenstown to pick up her son from school, then arrange transport and accommodation for the family and travel to Dunedin.
After arriving she sat crying on the floor in Dunedin Hospital.
“I felt hopeless and helpless – seeing multiple doctors and nurses running in and out of her room was daunting and scary.
“I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through on that day.”
Her family had lived in Queenstown for 17 years and were devastated with their treatment, she said.
“I came to New Zealand for a better life and I have been doing community work for over 10 years.
“It’s extremely distressing to see there is no humanity in the medical area,” she said.
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Our national women’s rugby team took out the Rugby World Cup on Saturday in a tense finale at Eden Park. The Black Ferns won the match by just three points taking home their sixth world title.
With public celebrations taking place following the All Blacks (men's) Rugby World Cup wins … View moreOur national women’s rugby team took out the Rugby World Cup on Saturday in a tense finale at Eden Park. The Black Ferns won the match by just three points taking home their sixth world title.
With public celebrations taking place following the All Blacks (men's) Rugby World Cup wins (2011 & 2015) as well as parades for the America's cup team, do you think similar celebration plans are needed for our winning Black Ferns women?
Hey Neighbours!
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Use promo … View moreHey Neighbours!
Looking for the perfect Christmas gift? Between now and 31 December, purchase a 3-month subscription to Sunday Star-Times for a friend, loved one (or yourself), and you'll receive a gorgeous soy candle selection worth $49 from Linden Leaves absolutely free.
Use promo code 'Christmas' at the checkout to redeem this unmissable deal!
The team at Sunday Star-Times
2 excellent books, $20 for both of them. Heaps of info in them. Pick up Green Island.
Sally Swift has written a fantastic book here. Very helpful to the rider. Pick up Green Island. Hard back
Bound in a way that makes it easy to have open where you are working. Great book. Pick up Green Island.
Another really informative book. If you have that horse mad kid, they will love this. Pick up Green Island
Posting on behalf of my sister, she really wants to move these guys on. Price now negotiable.
She rescued the Mum from the side of the road and nobody claimed her so she took her on and now has pups to go to good homes.
All boys in the poster, but she also has a brindle and black female puppy … View morePosting on behalf of my sister, she really wants to move these guys on. Price now negotiable.
She rescued the Mum from the side of the road and nobody claimed her so she took her on and now has pups to go to good homes.
All boys in the poster, but she also has a brindle and black female puppy available.
They are now about 10 weeks old.
Poster price reasonable, considering all the work, food, etc.
Contact 0212335971
Skate away! Turn an old skateboard into a handy clock with a little imagination and Resene paints.
Find out how to create your own.
By reporter Hamish McNeilly:
The posters on a boarded-up shop on Dunedin’s main street leave no doubt as to what store is about to open – it’s Cookie Time.
The company is set to open its second New Zealand-based Cookie Time Cookie Bar on George St, Dunedin’s main shopping area.
The… View moreBy reporter Hamish McNeilly:
The posters on a boarded-up shop on Dunedin’s main street leave no doubt as to what store is about to open – it’s Cookie Time.
The company is set to open its second New Zealand-based Cookie Time Cookie Bar on George St, Dunedin’s main shopping area.
The Christchurch-based company, which is now in its 40th year, has returned to the city where it first started selling cookies outside its home base, before distributing its cookies nationwide.
‘’Dunedin has a special place in the Cookie Time world – and we’re thrilled to bring the magical, high energy explosion of flavour and colour that is the Cookie Bar to the heart of the city,’’ said Cookie Time co-founder and managing director Guy Pope-Mayell.
The Dunedin shop, which will open later this month, will offer an all-day dessert breakfast line, including American cereals.
The Cookie Bar will also feature hero “freakshakes”, as featured in the Cookie Time Cookie Bar in Tokyo, Japan.
The first Cookie Time Cookie bar opened in Queenstown in 2010, followed by the Tokyo store in 2013.
The Cookie Bars also feature in-store karaoke and gift merchandise.
Pope-Mayell said the second New Zealand Cookie Bar had been a while in the making.
“We’ve put a lot of time and thought into testing and proof-pointing the concept domestically and internationally, and then of course the pandemic put the brakes on for a couple of years.
“Now we’re moving into full roll-out mode, and are looking to open a new location each year over the next five years.’’
A Cookie Bar project is also under way in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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