Parents unhappy with local treatment but case to make medical history

Parents unhappy with local treatmenAnger and taking legal action against local medical authorities are currently on the mind of Pae Puna who has just returned from New Zealand after spending time with his son Pastor Russell Puna, who was medically referred following a serious medical condition. “I’m glad I went to NZ to be with my son because I saw with my own eyes, how serious his condition was” said Mr Puna after complaining about the poor health referral system in the Cook Islands.
Pastor Puna was referred to NZ following an infection after the removal of a tooth several months ago. “I did not realize how serious his situation was until I arrived and was advised by his specialist that had his referral been delayed by another 2 days, I would be burying my son instead.” Said Puna. “Unfortunately, our doctors here did not inform NZ of the seriousness of his situation and that it was in fact regarded by authorities in NZ as an emergency. There was no ambulance to meet him on arrival at the airport and my son has had to undergo eight operations while in intensive care.”
Puna added, “The concern is that Russell is diabetic and this was not picked by the local dentist who extracted the tooth without proper diagnosis of his medical condition. Even the doctors at the hospital didn’t know what to do resulting in his referral and as far as I’m concerned, enough’s enough.”
“There has been too much of this uncertainty by our medical doctors because of limited resources and in some cases, death has been the ultimate outcome. I am aware of a similar case last year involving the extraction of a tooth that resulted in the death of a particular person. To say there is no money is no longer acceptable and someone must now take responsibility for this type of medical negligence in my view.”
“Four specialists were involved throughout my son’s case and I was advised, his situation was so unusual, they are considering placing this case in the Medical Journal because they’ve never experienced anything like it before. Thankfully he is now out of danger because of the specialized care he’s received in NZ and is on the road to recovery but I am not sure when he will be returning home.”
Puna said while he sympathized with the lack of resources and medical staff expertise, that was no excuse. “For too long,” said Puna, “I, along with many others, have sat on the fence knowing something was wrong but done nothing about it. This cannot continue because who will be next?”
“My son should have been referred much earlier as indicated by the NZ specialists especially when our local doctors knew his condition was beyond their level of competence.” Said Puna.
As to who should be blamed, Mr Puna would not be drawn on who he will be directing his complaint at but he will be seeking legal advice following extensive discussions with the specialists and his immediate family. “For now, I just want to thank everyone who prayed for Pastor Puna’s recovery for their continuous thoughts and prayers.”
NOTE: On Friday the Acting Secretary for Health Tupou Faireka was referred a copy of the article for comment and later in the morning he advised that he had held a discussion with Dr Aung and Dentistry staff. He said the case was documented and he also acknowledged the rare nature of the case. The referral had been made after hospital staff had done as much as they could given the available expertise and resources. Faireka said there would be further discussions next week and they await the family’s advice of future action.t but case to make medical history

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