Nurses' attitude angers new mum

A woman infected with swine flu who had an emergency caesarean section was left alone for an hour unable to reach her crying newborn son and unaided by nurses who appeared "scared" of catching the virus.

The Canterbury District Health Board's swine-flu management was questioned yesterday by Bishopdale woman Perawai Hurunui, a new mother who gave birth two weeks ago at Christchurch Women's Hospital while infected with the virus. Hurunui said she left hospital just two days after her caesarean section, disgusted at the treatment she got.

Nurses appeared scared of her condition and had taken up to an hour to answer her calls for help, she said.

She and her newborn son, Devani, had not been visited or even telephoned by health authorities since they left the hospital, she said.

Hurunui said she was tested for swine flu after showing symptoms while in hospital having her son's birth induced on June 16.

She and her baby's conditions deteriorated overnight and she had an emergency caesarean the next day.

She was transferred to the level five maternity ward and placed in isolation.

"I was told `if you have trouble, ring the bell'."

Devani started crying and Hurunui, still numb from the surgery, was unable to reach him, she said. She rang the bell three times, but it took over an hour for a nurse to come.

Hurunui said hospital staff attending her had to put on full protective outfits and the inconvenience of the measures seemed to make them reluctant to visit her a fact her mother, Kiri Hodgson, had confirmed in a conversation with a nurse.

"They said it was an inconvenience. What an experience for a first-time mum," Hodgson said.

Hurunui said when staff did finally arrive, they seemed reluctant to help.

"The nurses were scared of getting sick. Some of them were quite rude. Some would just stand at the door and say: `What do you want?"'

Hodgson said she took over her daughter's care and after two days she "threw a big wobbly" and demanded to have her daughter discharged.

"They could not wait to get her out," she said.

Hodgson and Hurunui both expressed disbelief that no-one would check to see if Hurunui or Devani had recovered.

"We're fine," Hurunui said. "I'm completely over the swine flu. Baby is fine. I'm just so happy to be out of the hospital."

CDHB chief medical officer Nigel Millar said it was "disappointing" to hear of Hurunui's experience. Staff were working hard to minimise the effects it had on care, he said.

"We will need to talk to Hurunui so that we can obtain more details and properly investigate."

- © Fairfax NZ News