Toddler sent home by hospital dies the next day

A family want answers after their 23-month-old boy died a day after being sent home from Wanganui Hospital.

Jarius William Tobin Field was taken by his parents to the emergency department on October 23. A paediatric specialist diagnosed him as having a viral infection and that he could "safely" go home.

The next morning Jarius' mother, Waiana Tobin, found her son next to her in bed with a purple rash covering his body. He was rushed back to Wanganui Hospital, were he died of meningococcal septicaemia, five days short of his second birthday.

Ms Tobin, 18, told Close Up last night: "I blame them. I mean it's a straight misdiagnosis. I just want them to acknowledge what they've done wrong and take it into account. I want my questions answered so I can have a bit of closure and so my son can rest in peace."

Jarius' father Clinton Field said he missed "cuddles and kisses" and "just hearing him talking".

New hospital chief executive Julie Patterson said staff were devastated and could not be sorrier: "Their little boy has died. For that we apologise."

An investigation into the death would be completed within a month and be shared with family and, with their permission, made public.

Paediatrician David Montgomery said meningococcal disease could be difficult to diagnose in the early stages because symptoms could be indistinguishable from a viral illness.

He said the diagnosis was even more difficult because Jarius appeared to be improving and was "smiling, chatting, and walking around" when he left the hospital. "This improvement reassured the paediatrician that all was well."

Mrs Patterson told The Dominion Post earlier this month that her priority would be patient safety and that she was determined to revive the hospital's battered reputation.

In 2006, a filing error left 166 patients without referrals for up to two years, resulting in 21 patients getting cancer and one dying.

In 2007, disgraced gynaecologist Roman Hasil quit after he botched eight sterilisation operations, from which six women became pregnant.

This month, Wellington coroner Ian Smith reported medication errors at the hospital contributed to the 2006 death of 62-year-old Canadian John Peter Taylor.