Jaydyn Barnett was airlifted to Middlemore Hospital after falling off a horse in Maketū, Bay of Plenty. He died suddenly while recovering at the hospital and his family has laid a complaint about his care.
Jaydyn Barnett was airlifted to Middlemore Hospital after falling off a horse in Maketū, Bay of Plenty. He died suddenly while recovering at the hospital and his family has laid a complaint about his care.
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 Advocacy Service after his death in January.
Barnett, who was 22 and livedin Pāpāmoa, suffered a spine injury on January 13 after falling from a horse in Maketū.
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.
While he was able to return to his bed and was initially talking to hospital staff, he quickly deteriorated and became unresponsive.
Barnett’s family was called back to the ward and despite desperate attempts from medical staff to resuscitate him, he died at around 3.30pm.
Barnett died at Middlemore on January 22.
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.
Barnett’s 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 that 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, strongly believed he was not wearing the stockings and a pumping device was not being used.
Nowland said that after her son’s death, his dead 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,” Nowland said. The family believed 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.
“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.”
This story has been updated to correct Barnett’s age
Isaac Davison is an Auckland-based reporter who covers health issues. He joined the Herald in 2008 and has previously covered the environment, politics, and social issues.
