'Swine flu hysteria' death under review

The Health and Disability Commission is looking into the case of a Christchurch man who died during "swine flu hysteria".

Minh Tran, 44, died on Wednesday, July 22, within minutes of being rushed to Christchurch Hospital's emergency department with blood poisoning caused by the skin infection, cellulitis.

Tran, the father of two young girls, had been to the Christchurch flu centre in St Asaph St three days in a row before his death, but his fatal condition was not detected.

Tran's family doctor, David Robertson, said at the time that Tran's death was preventable. "Swine flu hysteria" meant people were not always getting appropriate care, he said.

Tran's nephew, Dan Lai, said he laid a complaint with the commission soon after his uncle's death because the family believed somebody should be held accountable.

"All professions have to be held accountable, but doctors don't seem to be held accountable for much around here for errors that they make," Lai said.

He said the family had not accepted an apology from the Canterbury Primary Pandemic Group, which ran the flu centre where Tran was seen before his death.

"His English wasn't perfect, so he wasn't able to question a lot of actions that doctors took, like, `Why am I not getting more treatment and why are you not taking me seriously?'," Lai said.

"He was only doing what the doctor and DHB [district health board] were advocating for him to do – staying at home and going to the flu centre," Lai said.

He said Tran's death had been hard on the family, especially Tran's widow, who was left with two children and a mortgage to pay.

Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson said the commission was looking into "this tragic case", and a provisional decision was due before the end of the year.

- © Fairfax NZ News