Woman trespassed from visiting dying mother at Tauranga Hospital

The woman says the trespass notice prohibits her from visiting her dying mother at Tauranga Hospital. Photo / Mead Norton

A woman visiting her dying mother has been trespassed from Tauranga Hospital and says she will now be arrested if she tries to return to her mother’s side.

Tracy Lee’s elderly mother has stage four cancer, as well as vascular dementia, and is currently receiving end-of-life treatment in palliative care.

It’s understood she has just weeks to live.

Yesterday Lee, a volunteer suicide prevention worker who has power of attorney for her mother, was served a trespass notice by a police officer on behalf of the hospital.

The Herald has viewed a copy of the notice.

It warns that any breach of the notice could result in a fine of up to $1000 or imprisonment for up to three months.

“If I return to visit my dying mother I will be arrested on the spot,” she told the Herald.

She now fears her mother could die alone in “agony”.

Lee said she had been accused of assaulting and intimidating a nurse at the hospital following an incident yesterday when she requested pain relief for her mother.

She denied assaulting the nurse, describing the claim as “bulls**t”.

Police confirm serving the notice but say they are “not investigating further” and it’s understood no charges have been laid.

Lee also posted about the incident on social media yesterday.

“Tonight, as she was in extreme agony, I dared to ask for some pain relief. Their response? They called the police and trespassed me from the entire hospital!”

Several people expressed shock at Lee’s post, with one responding: “My heart breaks for you and your Mom.”

Another said: “I think the Health and Disability Commissioner might assist you, maybe get in touch. I hope you get to hug and nurture your mum again soon.”

Lee said she was now consulting a lawyer in the hope of having the notice overturned. She had also considered moving her mother to another hospital.

“But it may not be practical due to my mum’s poor health and pain levels (she was screaming and writhing in agony),” she wrote in a Facebook post.

Te Whatu Ora Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty governance and quality senior advisor Debbie Brown would not comment on individual cases but said trespass orders were not issued without good cause.

Brown said this specific matter “has been ongoing”.

The family concerned were offered a meeting with the hospital’s group operations director and a senior governance and quality advisor prior to the incident which led to the trespass order being issued.

“This was not taken up. The offer remains and the family are welcome to make contact so that we are able to work through this with them.”

Just 20 trespass orders had been issued at Tauranga Hospital in the last 12 months, compared with 37,000 hospital admissions during the same period.

“This is against a backdrop of increasing verbal and physical aggression being experienced by our frontline staff. The wellbeing of our patients and staff is paramount,” Brown said.

A police spokeswoman confirmed police were called to Tauranga Hospital yesterday and asked to serve a trespass notice on the hospital’s behalf.

“We are not investigating further. The details of what occurred would be for the hospital to comment on.”