‘False sense of security’ cited in gastro death
A woman who died after contracting campylobacter in the Havelock North gastro crisis may have had a ‘‘false sense of security’’ in the aged care complex that she resided in.
Jean Sparksman, 89, was found dead on August 13, 2016, in the serviced apartment she lived in at the Mary Doyle aged care complex in Havelock North.
A report by coroner Peter Ryan found she died as a result of becoming infected with campylobacter on top of underlying health issues, including coronary artery disease.
Ryan said Sparksman had not shown symptoms of heart disease before falling ill on August 10, but ‘‘the increased metabolic demand of the infective gastroenteritis would have increased the workload of the heart’’ and this demand might have exceeded the coronary arteries’ ability to supply an adequate amount of oxygenated blood.
She lived in one of 38 serviced apartments at the Mary Doyle complex. The apartments were overseen by two nurses.
Caregivers attended to her after she became ill and it was noted she was having difficulty coping with her symptoms. The coroner said he had been concerned that no medical attention was provided to Sparksman after three days of illness.
He obtained a report from a GP which noted Sparksman should have seen a health professional on August 12, but the GP noted that Sparksman managed all aspects of her own health and ‘‘thus there was no responsibility on the caregivers to refer her to primary healthcare’’.
The GP said Sparksman ‘‘may have believed she was being monitored by people who were competent to assess her level of unwellness’’.
She said ‘‘caregivers checked her temperature, pulse and blood pressure, and her apartment was physically linked by an internal corridor to a rest home’’ and ‘‘this may have created a false sense of security for Mrs Sparksman’’.
The situation was similar to if she had been living in her own home with concerned neighbours checking in on her during an illness, the GP said.
Ryan, whose finding was made in February but only obtained this week, said the reason Sparksman did not seek medical attention ‘‘may have been due to a false sense of security generated by the environment she lived in and the monitoring of caregivers’’.
Her daughter, Yvonne Clark, said the staff had not been at fault and her mother had been an independent resident. ‘‘They did check on her and I have no qualms about her level of care.’’
She said the complex was in lock down because it thought it was dealing with a norovirus outbreak, and had no idea the water had been contaminated. ‘‘Had they known about that, I think things would have been different.
‘‘She was a very independent person and was not one to bother people,’’ Clark said.
Sparksman’s death was one of four linked to the outbreak, which made about 5500 people ill and put 45 in hospital.
It led to a public inquiry that resulted in recommendations to improve the safety of drinking water, and for all water supplies to be treated.