Family lays complaint after son, 29, dies suddenly on hospital ward
Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital has defended its care of a young man after he died suddenly in one of its wards.
The family of Jaydyn Barnett has laid a complaint with the Health and Disability Commissioner after his death in January.
Barnett, who was 29 and lived in Pāpāmoa, suffered a spine injury on January 13 after falling from a horse in Maketu¯.
He had no feeling from his chest down and was airlifted to Middlemore. A scan found he had a fracture in his lower spine and a blood clot behind the spinal cord, his family said.
After four days in intensive care, where he caught Covid-19, he was moved to a ward.
His mother, Diane Nowland, said a few days later Barnett had recovered to the extent they were told he could go home.
“He was laughing, playing cards with his sister, happy that he was coming home,” she said.
Barnett’s medical records show that on January 22, he was “mobilising” to encourage blood flow. At about 2.30pm, he had a fall outside his ward.
While he was able to return to his bed and was initially talking to hospital staff, he quickly deteriorated and became unresponsive.
His family was called back to the ward and despite attempts to resuscitate him, he died at about 3.30pm.
Clinical director of surgery, anaesthesia and perioperative services, Dr John Kenealy, said the hospital was working with the coroner to establish Barnett’s cause of death.
He said Barnett had been receiving the medication clexane, which is to prevent a pulmonary embolism — a condition in which arteries in the lungs are blocked by a blood clot.
But at this stage, doctors had not been able to identify a pulmonary embolism. His case was discussed at a committee which specialised in blood clots, and his care was “deemed to be appropriate”, Kenealy said in a statement.
There were conflicting accounts of Barnett’s care before his death.
Kenealy said hospital records showed anti-embolism stockings — which reduce the risk of blood clots — were in place while he was in Middlemore’s care.
The family, of whom various members were at his bedside throughout his stay, were adamant that he was not wearing the stockings and a pumping device was not being used.
Nowland said after her son’s death, his body was left for several hours before he was moved to the hospital’s bereavement services. She claimed he was not moved for seven hours but this could not be verified.
“We couldn’t bring him home. His body had deteriorated so much that he had to be cremated.”
Hospital officials acknowledged the distress the delay caused, but said there were several important processes that had to occur before bereavement services could move a deceased person.
“Counties Manukau regrets any delays which occurred in Mr Barnett’s case,” Kenealy said.
The hospital’s leadership was unable to comment further while Barnett’s death was being investigated by the Coroner.
Staff planned to offer to meet with Barnett’s family soon.
Nowland said she had laid a complaint with the Health and Disability Advocacy Service, which had referred the case to the commissioner.
“Words cannot describe how our family feels about Jaydyn’s death,” she said.
“It has left us all pretty empty. But he was a kind, generous and beautiful soul and this should never have happened.
“We are all struggling without Jay.”