Anger at death finding

By Theresa Garner

A coroner has ruled that a faulty machine contributed to - but did not cause - the death of a man who suffocated on a Waikato Hospital operating table.

Sidney Atkinson, a 49-year-old Gisborne fisherman, died while being anaesthetised for routine eye surgery in October 1996.

A five-day inquest in October this year focused on a wrongly assembled anaesthetic machine absorber, which blocked the flow of air through the breathing circuit.

In his finding, Hamilton coroner Gordon Matenga agreed with lawyers for Health Waikato that Mr Atkinson died from an allergic reaction to drugs. The blockage did not cause his death but aggravated resuscitation attempts.

Mr Atkinson's brother Bob was angry at the finding. "He's let off the people that matter - the big guys who made the mistake."

The family lawyer, Gerald McKay, had argued that Mr Atkinson's death was caused by a series of hospital errors, including the wrong assembly of the machine.

Mr Matenga avoided commenting on anaesthetist John Moodie, who was in charge of Mr Atkinson's care.

He said anaesthetic service technician Bill van Berkum had put the absorber together the wrong way. Then his trainee, Carl Whyatt, also made a mistake. Mr Whyatt should not have tried to fix the absorber, because it was outside his area of expertise.

Mr Matenga called for a national training programme for anaesthetic service technicians. He acknowledged the steps Health Waikato had taken to address concerns about procedures.