Netball star taken off life support
Former Silver Fern Tania Dalton’s life support has been turned off five days after collapsing when she suffered a brain aneurysm during a social game of touch rugby.
The 45-year-old was admitted to Auckland City Hospital in a critical condition.
‘‘It is expected that she will slip away when she is ready, any time from now,’’ her family said in a statement.
Her family kept a vigil by her bedside.
Dalton had suffered a ruptured internal carotid artery aneurysm during the game last Thursday.
The internal carotid arteries supply blood to the front of the brain.
Test results revealed that the internal aneurysm had resulted in massive blood loss and ultimately loss of oxygen to the brain for an extended period.
‘‘The damage has now been accepted as irreversible and so the family had no choice but to allow nature to take its course,’’ her family said.
Meanwhile, Auckland District Health Board is investigating a privacy breach relating to Dalton’s medical care.
It is understood clinicians not directly involved with Dalton’s care have accessed her medical file but ADHB would not confirm the nature of the breach. An ADHB spokesperson said they had ‘‘become aware there may have been a breach of privacy involving an Auckland DHB patient.
‘‘Auckland DHB takes patient confidentiality extremely seriously and we are investigating this in line with our usual practice.’’
ADHB did not provide further details.
This is not the first time a highprofile patient’s privacy has been breached.
In 2013, four clinicians who breached patient confidentiality by accessing cricketer Jesse Ryder’s medical records faced disciplinary action.