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Rotorua Hospital has revealed that a 12-week-old baby boy transferred to Auckland's Starship Hospital with suspicious head injuries was admitted twice to its care last week.
The Lakes District Health Board last night said that the boy was initially taken to the hospital on Tuesday and was assessed as having had "a choking episode". The episode was not considered suspicious, and the baby was treated and observed for 48 hours before being discharged.
"He was well at discharge and was sent home on leave, with clear instructions that if there were any concerns he was to be brought right back into hospital," board spokeswoman Sue Wilkie said.
She said family members took him back to the hospital on Friday at 8pm, and at that stage his condition was deemed suspicious.
"[He was] unwell, in serious condition, on the second presentation," she said.
Ms Wilkie would not comment on how the baby's condition was different when brought in the second time, but said Rotorua Hospital staff had alerted police that they considered his injuries suspicious at this point.
A decision was made to transfer the baby to Starship as a result of his condition and the findings of a scan. The baby was flown to Auckland Airport, leaving Rotorua at 4.20am and arriving at 5am.
He was admitted to a high-dependency ward, which is between intensive care and other wards.
Police have also refused to comment further about the nature of his injuries, only saying they were not life-threatening.
"He's on the mend reasonably well," Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Loper said yesterday.
He said 3-year-old Nia Glassie, the other Rotorua child in Starship as a result of suspected abuse, had been taken off her ventilator.
"She's not in a coma, but her condition hasn't changed much," he said.
