A South Auckland man says he suffered major bleeding and lost vision in his eye while waiting for a Counties Manukau Health medical appointment. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Clive Caine can still drive, luckily.
But the 71-year-old Auckland resident’s world has darkened after losing eyesight in one eye and his job as a relief teacher along with it.
Struggles with depth perception mean life is full of new adjustments.
Yet it didn’t have to be this way if the health system had taken his care more seriously, he says.
Going to get new glasses in early January, his optometrist scanned his eye and was immediately alarmed, Caine said.
He urgently referred Caine to a specialist, hoping the doctor could see him within two weeks.
Counties Manukau Health wrote back setting an appointment three months later, Caine said.
But then in February, a “massive bleed” started behind his eye.
By the time Caine got to emergency specialists at Greenlane Clinical Centre, it was too late.
Nothing could be done to save vision in that eye, they said.
“I want to express a warning to others, take care of their eyes and do something about it and don’t wait for specialists - they will take months to come,” Caine said.
It isn’t the first time Caine has been forced to wait months for urgent care, he said.
“Last year, I had to wait four months for a triple heart bypass. I thought that was bad enough,” he said.
“Every day, having to do nothing for four months, thinking when I’m gonna have my next heart attack.”
Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand said it is taking Caine’s care “extremely seriously and are making inquiries into the situation.
“We understand and respect that this is a very difficult time for Mr Caine and we are sincerely sorry for what has occurred,” a health department spokesperson said.
“We will be in touch with Mr Caine directly as part of this process.”
Caine said he wished he had learnt from last year’s experience waiting for his bypass surgery to be more proactive in chasing treatment for his eyes.
The issue with his eye caught him by surprise, Caine said.
He hadn’t even known he had a problem when he went to the optometrist in January.
He had simply thought his eyesight had been deteriorating and he needed glasses.
However, the optometrist’s scan showed a “large build-up of fluid around the optic nerve” in Caine’s right eye, Caine said.
When Counties Manukau wrote back to him saying his appointment would be three months later, they did say Caine could go to Greenlane Clinical Centre should there be an emergency.
Then in February Caine noticed a problem with his eye. But it was the day before Cyclone Gabrielle’s wild weather hit.
So he said he waited before the worst of the weather passed before going to the Greenlane centre.
“I got to Greenlane, they said, ‘Oh, it’s too late, the damage has been done’,” Caine said.
“They basically said I should have come in straight away in January, which no one told me.”
Caine said he didn’t even really know the Greenlane clinic existed at that time.
“But Counties Manukau [Health], they had all the information, they saw the x-rays, my optometrist sent them all the information, they could see what was wrong, they still said there is a three-month wait,” he claimed.
Caine said he’s seen three specialists since - including one at Counties Manukau Health - but they’ve all said nothing can be done.
They aren’t sure what caused the massive bleed in February, he said.
Counties Manukau Health sent him a reminder message in April, saying his appointment to see a specialist was coming up in two days - that was months after he’d already lost his right eyesight, Caine claimed.
The Health Department spokesperson said they won’t be making specific media comments on Caine’s care, even though he invited them to by way of signing a privacy waiver.
The spokesperson said the Health Information Privacy Code makes it illegal to disclose information about a patient’s care.
“We also have an ongoing duty of care to act in our patient’s best interests, which means we must consider how the potential release of any information might affect their safety and mental wellbeing, not just now, but into the future,” the spokesperson said.
“This is why we generally do not accept privacy waivers via third parties as requiring us to engage in an open discussion.”
However, Caine can personally seek more information about his care if he’s unhappy with the Health Department’s response and complain to the Ombudsman or Privacy Commissioner, the spokesperson said.
In good news for Caine, ACC has now agreed to cover the costs of his treatment.
Yet that won’t bring back his vision.
“I have had to give up my teaching job and I am still trying to adjust to the loss of sight in my everyday life - realising that this could have been avoided if I had seen the specialist much sooner,” he said.
A selection of cartoons from Herald cartoonist Rod Emmerson over the past year