He said Parfitt, who suffered from constant pain stemming from an operation that went wrong seven years ago, was taken by ambulance to Palmerston North Hospital\u2019s emergency department about midday on Saturday. Parfitt suffered from complex regional pain syndrome, and was a regular visitor to hospital for relief.<\/p>\n
Parfitt \u2013 who was there with her daughter \u2013 was told there would be a wait of more than a day to be seen, so she returned home, where for a time she seemed better, Adkins said.<\/p>\n
But it was agreed by mid-afternoon that she needed looking at, so the family decided to take her to Hawke\u2019s Bay Hospital in Hastings, where they believed she would be seen more quickly.<\/p>\n
Her daughter was driving Parfitt when she became unresponsive in the passenger seat of their car while heading over the Ruahine Range.<\/p>\n
They stopped in Woodville, about 20 minutes from Palmerston North, and an ambulance was called, but Parfitt could not be revived. An autopsy took place over the weekend and the family were now waiting for its results.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Health NZ interim group director of operations for MidCentral, Kath Fraser-Chapple, said Palmerston North Hospital\u2019s emergency department was \u201cfully staffed to meet demand\u201d on Saturday afternoon, where the average wait time was two hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeath New Zealand is aware an individual died after earlier attending Palmerston North Hospital ED on Saturday afternoon. We would like to offer our sympathies to their family,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecords show that the patient arrived around midday by ambulance and was triaged on arrival. The patient was called for assessment within 90 minutes of being triaged, but was not in the waiting room. They were called again 45 minutes later and again were not present.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fraser-Chapple said the death had been referred to the coroner.<\/p>\n
Health NZ has said it had nothing further to add to its statement. Radio NZ asked what the longest waiting time was at Palmerston North Hospital\u2019s emergency department on Saturday, and whether it would investigate what happened.<\/p>\n
Adkins said if his daughter knew her wait would be short, she would have stayed at the Palmerston North Hospital emergency department.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s bloody disgusting. It\u2019s my daughter \u2013 I\u2019ve lost my daughter. It\u2019s like they\u2019re playing Russian roulette with people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parfitt\u2019s pain was so bad she was taking a controlled mix of THC and methadone, but that was not always enough.<\/p>\n