New Zealand Hospital Crisis

Published Articles

This website is created to raise awareness about the crisis in New Zealand hospitals with regard to care for stroke patients as well as the elderly.  According to the OECD, “New Zealand is almost level pegging with Mexico, Poland and Romania for hospital deaths for hemorrhagic strokes,” Stroke foundation Issue 14 summer 2008.

There have been several complaints against two Nelson hospitals, which include a complaint about an elderly stroke patient, Colleen De Valera. Colleen's treatment at the two hospitals went against both the Ministry of Health and the Stroke Foundation protocols for stroke victims.  The patient’s daughter, Registered Nurse Su Wyatt termed the treatment of her mother in two of the hospitals “barbaric and extremely cruel”.  Su Wyatt has worked as a nurse in India, Guatemala and in the United States.  She said that she had found better care in the third world countries than in her homeland of New Zealand.  

Colleen De Valera was refused food and fluids and was left unturned in her bed for 4-6 hours at a time.  She received care appropriate only for someone who is imminently about to die from cancer i.e. within 24 hours.  The medical staff refused to perform the required tests to confirm the stroke, and diagnosed Colleen as having terminal cancer, without actually performing the needed tests to confirm the diagnosis of cancer. 

Please click here to read the complaint to the Director of Medical Services at Nelson hospital, which includes the appalling details of the treatment of Colleen De Valera.

When Colleen De Valera was taken off the morphine pump and finally given hydration upon insistence from her daughter, over a period of a few days, she showed undisputable signs of recovery from her stroke.  She was feeding herself, applying cream to her face, and, according to her son, was more cognizant and alert than he had seen her in years. 

Please click here to see the videos of Colleen De Valera.

Dementia patient's treatment 'barbaric' - Article in The Nelson Mail dated September 1, 2008 regarding the treatment of Colleen De Valera by the two Nelson hospitals.

"Our Appalling Record - New Zealand languishes near the bottom of OECD figures for stroke mortality rates" - Another article with Colleen's story was published in The Listener.

Please click here for additional links related to complaints against New Zealand hospitals.