Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the story of a woman and her unborn child dying at Palmerston North Hospital is ‘devastating’.
The heavily pregnant woman in her 20s died after she arrived with sepsis and faced delays to her admission to intensive care.
The woman, in her 20s, arrived at the hospital early one morning in February this year with signs of severe sepsis, RNZ reported.
She was not admitted until the early evening and died later that night.
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Speaking to media following a cabinet meeting on Monday afternoon, Ardern said the first thing that stood out to her was the request for privacy from the family.
“I really take that to heart because this is a devastating story.
“But it’s really important we understand what has happened here.”
Speaking alongside Ardern, Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said it was a tragic scenario.
“Maternal and child deaths are extremely rare in New Zealand and all of them are investigated.
WARWICK SMITH/Stuff
A woman and her unborn child died after her admission to intensive care was delayed after she presented at Palmerston North hospital with severe signs of sepsis. (File photo).
“We really will have to see the results from the coroner and the hospital’s reporting into those deaths, but it’s absolutely an expectation they are all investigated.”
The passing of a mother and her baby were tragic events, and officials were in contact with the woman’s whānau, Te Whatu Ora MidCentral interim district director Dr Jeff Brown said in a media release .
A comprehensive clinical review was under way and recommendations would be put in place “as a priority”.
