Hospital board on the rack over woman who lost leg

A health board has been told to improve its handling of complaints after a row over the treatment of an amputee.

Associate Health Minister Damien O'Connor said the West Coast District Health Board had to ensure Chris Townrow received the best treatment possible.

Mrs Townrow has been confined to a wheelchair since losing her right leg above the knee after routine knee surgery at Grey Hospital last November.

She believed an artery was "minced" during the operation and that her leg could have been saved had doctors not waited four days to send her to Christchurch for a second opinion.

The Health and Disability Commissioner is investigating.

Mr O'Connor, who is also the West Coast-Tasman MP, said it was a complex case. "Clearly a mistake was made and there's a need to ensure she gets the best treatment she can."

He said the board had to improve its handling of complaints. It took 45 working days to respond to a complaint from Mrs Townrow, four times longer than the board's own policy allowed.

The board had apologised for the injury which occurred during her knee surgery, but not for the delay in transferring her to Christchurch.

Mrs Townrow last month wrote to the board, asking why she had not been transferred earlier. The board had not responded.

When the board answered Mrs Townrow's initial complaint, it said it could not contact her surgeon, Robert Coup, because he had left to work in America.

- NZPA