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Waikato DHB has been asked to apologize for “deficiencies” in the treatment of a pregnant woman whose baby died of hypoxia at birth.
Deputy Commissioner for Health and Disability Rose Wall today released a report that found Waikato DHB in violation of the Health and Disability Services Consumer Rights Code for care provided to a pregnant woman.
According to the report, the woman, who was 28 weeks pregnant, presented to the public hospital with abdominal pain.
“Evaluations by obstetric and general surgery teams had not established a cause for the pain before the woman collapsed 17 hours later and her uterus was found to have ruptured,” the report states.
“The baby survived initially, but died a month later as a result of hypoxia at birth.”
Wall notes in her report that the rupture of a scarless uterus in a woman who is not giving birth is “extremely rare and, prior to the woman’s collapse, it was not a diagnosis that many doctors would have considered or made under the circumstances.” .
Despite this, he criticized the Waikato DHB for a number of “deficiencies in obstetric and general surgery reviews.”
“These included missed opportunities for more senior oversight and inadequate documentation of some reviews,” Wall believes.
In the report, Wall also found that the lack of effective communication and coordination between the OB and general surgery teams contributed to a delay in the appropriate radiological evaluation.
He recommended that the Waikato DHB implement a series of procedures that will address the issues outlined in the report and also recommended that the DHB apologize to the woman and her family.
“These recommendations have been met,” the report concludes.
