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RNZ News
23-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Woman lay dead more than two days in supported accommodation
Photo: 123RF A woman with an intellectual disability living in supported accommodation lay dead for more than two days before staff found her, an investigation by the Health and Disability Commission (HDC) has found. In a just-released decision, Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Rose Wall said Spectrum Care Limited breached the woman's rights by failing to ensure she was taking her anti-epilepsy medication or carry out adequate checks on her well-being. A post-mortem examination found the woman in her 30s, who died in early 2021, had not been taking her medication as prescribed. The report noted the woman (Ms A), who had suffered a traumatic brain injury as a toddler, was "determined to live independently" and often refused help. "Ms A shared Spectrum support workers with the person living in the flat next to hers, and she was able to be supported 24/7. However, mostly the support she received was at her own request." Unless she asked for help, she was usually checked once a day - "or not at all if staff did not want to anger/wake her". She had a long history of threatening and physically aggressive behaviour towards staff and police, but over the years, Spectrum had given her support with "anger management" and trained caregivers in behaviour support strategies. Wall said Spectrum "should be commended" for supporting Ms A to live independently, but it failed to adequately mitigate the risks. She had her medication for epilepsy and diabetes in blister packs, at her request. "Staff were supposed to remind her daily to take her medication, and if she was in a 'good mood' she would take them. "In 2021 there are three recorded instances when A refused to take her medications. Spectrum noted that if A was angry, she would refuse and sometimes throw the medications over the fence or onto the roof, and sometimes she would hide the blister pack so that staff could not check it." The caregiver who delivered her evening meal said she could still hear music playing from Ms A's apartment the next morning, "which made her think that A must be in a good mood, although she did not see A all day". A second caregiver, who came on duty at 3pm, went to ask Ms A what she would like for dinner, but saw she was in bed with music playing. He assumed that was sleeping "and did not want to wake her as this could trigger aggressive behaviour". He went to her flat again the next day at 11am and saw she was still lying in the same position. He entered the flat, called her name, and shook her body but she could not be roused. An independent investigation commissioned by Spectrum after her death found Ms A had been assessed as needing 24/7 support with day-to-day needs. In practice, this occurred on a once-a-day basis only, unless Ms A requested additional support or not at all if staff did not want to wake/anger her. Sean Stowers, Spectrum Care chief executive officer. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly "It was established that A had not been seen face-to-face by staff for more than one day." Ms A operated "in a high-trust system and he was known to occasionally break that trust". "This inevitably put her at risk, and there were insufficient checks and balances in the system to mitigate those risks. [Ms A's] policy of only allowing staff into her space when it suited her was also a risk. While it honoured her independence, it also prevented staff from monitoring her welfare and compromised their duty of care. "Staff trusted her to take her medicine, but there was no way to check that she had taken it at the right time. When she died, which was probably on the night of [Day1] or in the early morning of [Day 2], it became clear that she had not taken any of her prescribed medication [for the last few days]. This put her at risk and staff had no way of knowing she was at risk." Spectrum has since introduced a 'Self-Administration of Medicine Agreement' outlining the conditions for clients who control their own medication. Rose Wall. Photo: Supplied / HDC An expert adviser to the HDC, John Taylor, said a once-a-day check-in for someone with "very high support" needs was a severe departure from both the expected standard of care and the contract. "It is concerning that it took such a tragic event for Spectrum to develop and implement a new SOP [standard operating procedure] outlining that wellbeing checks of residential consumers should occur at least thrice daily." Regarding the lax oversight of Ms A's medication, Taylor said this was "a severe departure from the expected standard of care". Allowing people the "dignity of risk" meant respecting a person's autonomy and self-determination to make his or her own choices, but also providing appropriate safeguards, information and strategies to "minimise the risk of harm", he said. "To be clear, there is no 'dignity' for a person if they are left to face the consequences of risks they could not foresee, manage or understand." Wall said Spectrum had accepted the finding of "an organisational breach", and had itself identified "service-level failings". She directed the provider to apologise to Ms A's mother and family for the issues identified in the report, and revise its operating procedures to include alternative ways of doing wellbeing checks and medication reminders. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Guardian
29-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
RFK Jr's ‘Maha' report found to contain citations to nonexistent studies
Robert F Kennedy Jr's flagship health commission report contains citations to studies that do not exist, according to an investigation by the US publication Notus. The report exposes glaring scientific failures from a health secretary who earlier this week threatened to ban government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals. The 73-page 'Make America healthy again' report – which was commissioned by the Trump administration to examine the causes of chronic illness, and which Kennedy promoted it as 'gold-standard' science backed by more than 500 citations – includes references to seven studies that appear to be entirely invented, and others that the researchers say have been mischaracterized. Two supposed studies on ADHD medication advertising simply do not exist in the journals where they are claimed to be published. Virginia Commonwealth University confirmed to Notus that researcher Robert L Findling, listed as an author of one paper, never wrote such an article, while another citation leads only to the Kennedy report itself when searched online. Harold J Farber, a pediatric specialist supposedly behind research on asthma overprescribing, told Notus he never wrote the cited paper and had never worked with the other listed authors. The US Department of Health and Human Services has not immediately responded to a Guardian request for comment. The citation failures come as Kennedy, a noted skeptic of vaccines, criticized medical publishing this week, branding top journals the Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine and Jama as 'corrupt' and alleging they were controlled by pharmaceutical companies. He outlined plans for creating government-run journals instead. Beyond the phantom studies in Kennedy's report, Notus found it systematically misrepresented existing research. For example, one paper was claimed to show that talking therapy was as effective as psychiatric medication, but the statistician Joanne McKenzie said this was impossible, as 'we did not include psychotherapy' in the review. The sleep researcher Mariana G Figueiro also said her study was mischaracterized, with the report incorrectly stating it involved children rather than college students, and citing the wrong journal entirely. The Trump administration asked Kennedy for the report in order to look at chronic illness causes, from pesticides to mobile phone radiation. Kennedy called it a 'milestone' that provides 'evidence-based foundation' for sweeping policy changes. A follow-up 'Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy' report is due in August, raising concerns about the scientific credibility underpinning the administration's health agenda.
South China Morning Post
14-05-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Chinese hospital offers IVF for single women, allows them to meet, evaluate sperm donors
A private hospital in eastern China is under investigation for offering illegal in vitro fertilisation (IVF) services specifically for single women, allowing them to meet and choose sperm donors. The Nantai Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital, located in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, was shut down and is being probed by the local health commission after a media outlet uncovered its illicit IVF operations. Not listed among the official hospitals authorised to provide these services, the facility advertised that it could help single women conceive for a minimum fee of about 100,000 yuan (US$14,000). An unidentified doctor from the hospital informed Shandian News that the sperm is sourced directly from donors, who are primarily young men around 25 years old. The doctor explained that clients could select a donor based on various criteria, including appearance, educational background, nationality, and even the option to meet the donor in person. The hospital permitted clients to choose a donor based on various criteria, including physical appearance, educational background, nationality, and even the opportunity to meet the donor in person. Photo: Shutterstock 'You can choose graduates from prestigious universities involved in the '985' and '211' initiatives, or men holding a master's or PhD degree. The cost increases with the level of education,' the doctor noted.
