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Zachary Gravatt was 22 years old and studying medicine when he contracted meningococcal disease.
Two doctors involved in treating a young man who died of meningococcal disease can keep their names secret forever, a Superior Court judge ruled.
In a decision released this month, Supreme Court Justice Paul Davison ruled that “unfairly” naming and publicly shaming personnel involved in poorly-performed care could deter future participation in hospital investigations, which were critical to minimizing the risk of similar events occurring in the future.
Zachary Gravatt, 22, died on July 8, 2009, hours after being admitted to Auckland City Hospital.
Two years later, Coroner Brandt Shortland discovered that the hospital was struggling to cope with the flu epidemic that gripped Auckland and said that medical staff were unable to diagnose Gravatt in a “timely” manner.
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The Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) recognized that with a different treatment, Gravatt may have been saved. She issued an apology to her family and the parties reached a financial agreement in 2013.
Chris Skelton / Stuff
Lance Gravatt with a photograph of his son Zachary, who died of meningococcal disease.
But three years later, Gravatt’s parents, Lance and Jenny, received an anonymous letter, alleging a “cover-up” at the board of health.
In 2018, Coroner Morag McDowell conducted a second investigation.
The coroner looked at what happened and when, if there were opportunities to have treated Gravatt before, and if the absence of a senior doctor, who was dining in Ponsonby at the time, affected Gravatt’s chances of survival.
It found there were no deficiencies in Gravatt’s hospital treatment, but denied a request from two doctors for the permanent deletion of the name.
In June, 11 years after Gravatt’s death, attorneys for the two doctors asked the Superior Court to review the coroner’s decision to make their names public.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
Auckland City Hospital admitted that Gravatt could have been saved by a different treatment.
This month, Judge Davison ruled against naming the doctors or revealing the contents of the anonymous letter.
“In my opinion, publicly naming and shaming staff ‘unfairly’ involved in episodes of poor outcome care has the effect of dissuading staff from reporting clinical risk, which in turn negatively impacts a ‘culture of safety’ ”, He ruled.
Judge Davison added that naming individual staff members in an unusual case like this would likely undermine the hospital’s goals of creating a “just culture,” which was safer for patients because it minimized the risk of similar events occurring in the future. .
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Judge Davison said it was clear that Gravatt, pictured, was an excellent young man and had prospects for a very exciting future in medicine.
“The willingness of staff to participate openly in hospital investigation processes where there have been problems derived from an episode of care is an integral part of achieving this important objective of public health care.
“I’m afraid this goal will be undermined if [the doctors] be appointed, and the anonymous letter should be published, because in my opinion that will discourage other healthcare professionals from fully and openly participating in DHB’s research processes in the future.
“I can’t say how much, but doctors will see what has happened to these doctors and adjust their behaviors accordingly, in ways that do not promote better health outcomes for the public.”
