No public inquiry into Blenheim surgeon
A Blenheim surgeon investigated over two deaths after failed operations will not face a public inquiry.
Former Wairau Hospital surgeon Dr Michael Parry performed gall bladder surgery on Jim Nicholls, 81, and Rachel Riddell, 31, shortly before they both died from extreme blood loss.
This week, the Ministry of Justice released Coroner Carla na Nagara’s decision to close her investigation into both cases after inquiries from Fairfax Media.
Na Nagara said she was satisfied the Health and Disability Commissioner sufficiently investigated both deaths and she would not hold a public inquiry.
The deaths of Nicholls and Riddell were several cases investigated by the Health and Disability Commission where Parry’s competence was called into question.
Riddell, an office worker in Blenheim, had her gall bladder removed in 2011. Staff discovered a few hours after the surgery she was bleeding internally. Riddell told staff before the surgery she did not want a blood transfusion, even to save her life, and this was put on her hospital file. The commissioner’s report found Parry did not read all of her file, and did not know about the declaration until staff told him after her surgery.
Parry decided to transfer her to a better-equipped hospital that could help her without a transfusion but she died before that could happen.
A post-mortem could not find the source of the internal bleeding, the coroner said. The commissioner said there were several procedures that could have helped save Riddell, but they were not immediately available at Wairau Hospital. If Parry had known about her declaration, he could have arranged for treatment to be prepared in the unlikely event of bleeding, or deferred the surgery to a different time or bigger hos- pital, and he had breached the health code by not reading the notes sufficiently.
Na Nagara said in her decision from 2014 it was impossible to know if Riddell’s death could have been avoided if Parry knew about her declaration, but the risk would have been significantly lower.
The commissioner’s findings and recommendations were sufficient, and na Nagara would not resume her inquiry nor make further recommendations, she said.
Nicholls also died after significant blood loss following surgery to remove his gall bladder in 2012. A pathologist found the bleeding was caused by damage to an artery and a vein near his gall bladder.
The commissioner found Parry should have told Nicholls he was under voluntary work restrictions preventing him from performing keyhole surgery after two earlier botched surgeries.
Na Nagara’s report in 2015 found no further recommendations were required. Further action could have been pursued by the Director of Proceedings, who could refer Parry to the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, the Human Rights Review Tribunal, or both. However the director would not take further action. Parry no longer holds a practicing certificate but still lives in Blenheim.