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Home / New Zealand

Students meningococcal death: Doctor granted permanent name suppression

Luke Kirkness
By Luke Kirkness
Sport Planning Editor·NZ Herald·
28 Sep, 2020 12:15 AM3 mins to read

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Focus: Inquest re-opened into meningococcal death of Auckland medical student
Two coroner's inquests were held into the death of Zachary Gravatt, who died from meningococcal disease in 2009. Video / Jason Oxenham ...
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      Two coroner's inquests were held into the death of Zachary Gravatt, who died from meningococcal disease in 2009. Video / Jason Oxenham
      NOW PLAYING • Focus: Inquest re-opened into meningococcal death of Auckland medical student
      Two coroner's inquests were held into the death of Zachary Gravatt, who died from meningococcal disease in 2009. Video / Jason Oxenham ...

      A doctor's name will be kept secret after concerns were raised about the care given to a young medical student dying of meningococcal disease.

      Zachary Gravatt died on July 8, 2009, hours after heading to his GP with fevers, rigours, headaches and groin pain.

      The 22-year-old was admitted to Auckland City Hospital at 1.43pm, and despite quickly deteriorating over the afternoon he was not transferred to the Department of Critical Care Medicine until 6.40pm.

      Read More

      • New campaign puts meningococcal disease in the spotlight
      • Kiwi dies from meningococcal after complaining of 'stomach bug'
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      • Zachary Gravatt's parents look back on 10 years since his death

      He died 35 minutes later, killed by septicaemia from the C-strain meningococcal bacteria.

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      Two inquests have been held over his death at Auckland City Hospital after he was admitted on the suspicion he had swine flu.

      The second inquest, held in October 2018, was ordered by Deputy Solicitor-General Virginia Hardy after an anonymous letter which claimed to be from an Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) staffer alleged a "cover-up".

      Zachary Gravatt died on July 8, 2009. Photo / Supplied
      Zachary Gravatt died on July 8, 2009. Photo / Supplied

      In June, the High Court heard a judicial review and the applications of two doctors associated with Gravatt's care who wished to have their identities permanently suppressed.

      One of the doctors involved had their name suppressed by High Court Judge Paul Davison.

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      The other doctor's submission for name suppression was not accepted because they provided appropriate care to Gravatt.

      "The fact that [he] was involved in providing appropriate and competent care and treatment of Zachary in July 2009, could not be damaging to his reputation," Davison said.

      And, in the judge's view, the passage of time since then would not render any contemporary media reporting of Gravatt's death as unfair or harmful to his reputation.

      The entire contents of the anonymous letter which blew the whistle on the "cover-up" has also been suppressed.

      Discover more

      New Zealand

      Parents recount final hours with son: 'The nurses with Zachary were crying'

      23 Oct 09:00 PM
      New Zealand

      Meningococcal death: Doctor allegedly joked delay was to finish dessert

      25 Oct 04:47 AM
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      During the second inquest, the on-call doctor's evidence was that he was stuck in traffic when attempting to return from a Ponsonby restaurant to hospital to treat Gravatt.

      It was a claim a Coroner later said had "no support for the proposition".

      When Coroner Morag McDowell released her findings last April, she said the doctor's evidence about being "dead stopped" in traffic was unfounded.

      The on-call doctor and a colleague from the hospital were at a Japanese restaurant in Ponsonby when he received the first call about Gravatt's worsening condition.

      The inquest heard the call ended at 6.14pm, 61 minutes before Gravatt died.

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      The Coroner also noted that a nurse had made a flippant comment about the doctor needing to finish dessert, however, "there is no evidence that this was the actual reason for any delay in his return to the hospital".

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      But she found that even if the doctor had returned to the hospital sooner, it would have been unlikely to have changed the outcome for Gravatt.

      The doctor was granted name suppression due to the potential for unfair or unsubstantiated prejudice to the doctors' reputation.

      An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed quotations to Judge Davison. The article has been updated to amend these.

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