Northland widow Sheryl Bainbridge wants an investigation into the processes of Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau following her husband Neill’s (pictured) lack of treatment.
Northland widow Sheryl Bainbridge wants an investigation into the processes of Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau following her husband Neill’s (pictured) lack of treatment.
Northland widow Sheryl Bainbridge has made an official complaint about the lack of treatment for her late husband who died from cancer after 10 weeks without receiving any treatment.
The family believes there were several significant breaches of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumer Rights (the Code) under the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001.
Bainbridge wants “a comprehensive investigation into the processes and procedures at Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau to identify areas of improvement and prevent similar incidents in the future”.
That Neill’s diagnosis indicated the need for urgent attention and treatment ... however, no appointment to discuss his treatment plan was made before Neill passed away.
There were “multiple instances” where multi-disciplinary communication was lacking leading to significant delays in devising a treatment plan.
The lack of timely and effective communication between healthcare professionals and the family resulted in confusion and distress.
“The circumstances leading up to Neill’s death have raised serious concerns regarding the provision of medical care, communication, and coordination of services,” Bainbridge wrote in her complaint.
“The failure to provide essential information regarding Neill’s medication and his terminal condition, as well as the inadequate assessment of his deteriorating health, are deeply troubling and unacceptable.
“We strongly believe that a full and thorough investigation is imperative to identify the systemic failures within Health New Zealand/Te Whatu Ora processes and procedures that contributed to Neill’s suffering and failed to give him the opportunity to extend his life.”
Bainbridge, from Coopers Beach, said she was sharing Neill’s story “in order to give Neill a voice, and in the hope that changes will be made so other families will not have to endure the suffering we experienced”.
Bainbridge said when she asked a doctor at the hospital what the family could do, “he said ‘tell your story’.
“That’s what we’re going to do.
“He said if a politician were to get cancer in the Far North they’d see what we were faced with.
“I’m hoping a change of Government will make a difference but ... who knows.”
Neill Bainbridge died of cancer in September without ever seeing an oncologist.
The Cancer Society says patients usually wait four to six weeks before starting chemotherapy or radiation treatment.
An oncologist phoned the Bainbridges on September 12 to make an appointment for Neill 10 weeks after his initial diagnosis.
The appointment was for the following day, but by then it was too late, and he died that day.
The Northern Advocate reported the family’s plight about what they called New Zealand’s “broken” healthcare system, not long after Neill’s death.
Bainbridge said since the article, “so many people have got in touch and say they’ve had similar experiences”.
“It’s been outrageous. Te Whatu Ora needs to take a hard look at themselves and see where they’ve fallen down.
“There needs to be changes in procedure. For example, they have multi-disciplinary meetings every fortnight - that’s too long in cases of aggressive cancer.
“They should be staffed to an extent where they can get people to oncology in a timely manner.”
Bainbridge filed the complaint on October 17 and received an acknowledgement from Te Whatu Ora two days later.
The acknowledgement said her concerns had been referred to the general manager of surgical services, who would “follow up and provide a response for you”.
Te Whatu Ora’s clinical support services general manager Chris McLellan told the Advocate all complaints are “treated seriously and investigated thoroughly”.
McLellan acknowledged that investigating “could take some time” and apologised for the delay in providing Bainbridge with a response.
“We will make contact with her with an update and will continue working to have our response to her as soon as possible.
“We are looking into the journey of care that Mr Bainbridge received and, once the investigation is complete, we will provide our findings to Mrs Bainbridge.
“We will also be happy to meet with her to discuss and answer any questions she may have.
“All findings from our complaint investigation process are used to help improve our health services.”
Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering health, roading, lifestyle, business and animal welfare issues.
