The Dunedin woman’s partner, who declined to be named, said the issue was not about the quality of treatment, but the exhausting waiting time and lack of communication.
"Something has to change. It’s just not good enough, because I have no complaints about how they managed the procedures. Really, truly."
HNZ Southern acting group director of operations Simon Donlevy formally apologised.
"We are sorry for the upset and distress this patient experienced during her visit to the Dunedin Hospital emergency department.
"We have launched an investigation into her experience in Dunedin Hospital’s emergency department and in the meantime we are happy to meet her to discuss her experience in the ED."
The man said the situation arose about two weeks ago when his partner, who was pregnant, began experiencing severe pain, prompting a visit to the GP.
"The GP did her checks and she expected either a burst appendix or gallstones, or potentially an ectopic pregnancy.
"However, the GP did not think that ectopic was very likely but it was a risk."
The GP sent the pair off to the ED in Dunedin. They arrived there about 11.45am on November 24.
"She was still in a significant amount of pain but when she was sitting still the pain was OK. It was manageable.
"We were not sure what to expect."
The man said it was not until they had been waiting for five hours that a nurse was able to take a blood test.
"So blood was taken but all the time we were still waiting.
"By the time it was 6.30, my partner started getting increased pain. A lot of it. Very severe pain. And that’s when I went back to the triage desk to say ‘hey I’m not sure [what to do] but she’s now in a lot of pain"’.
While this was going on, the man heard a "loud thud" in the emergency room — his partner had fainted in her chair and was knocked out because of the pain.
"I ran towards her, kept her head up, and for a good 30 seconds, I actually thought she was dead.
"She was completely white and unresponsive.
"That did get the attention from the ED and the doctors — instantly, two doctors came. First thing they checked was if she was breathing and if there was a heartbeat."
His partner lost two litres of blood from internal bleeding.
"She also needed a blood transfusion to recover. So in a short amount of time — about 30 minutes — I thought I lost my partner but I did lose [my child] in pregnancy — to be fair it was an ectopic, so it would have never been the chance."
The man questioned the sense of leaving a pregnant woman in a waiting room for six hours and 45 minutes without any additional checks.
"Maybe we haven’t complained enough; maybe we should have spoken up more about the pain.
"However, also the hospital did say [to us] with her being pregnant and the risk of it being an ectopic she should have got an ultrasound at the very early stage, at the triage."
Mr Donlevy said the time that someone spent in ED was complex.
Patients were assessed and triaged upon arrival and prioritised based on their assessed level of clinical need.
"This means people assessed with the most urgent clinical needs are seen promptly. However, those with less urgent needs may wait longer to see a doctor or nurse.
"People can receive treatment — such as pain relief or X-ray — while waiting to see a doctor, and support while awaiting transfer or admission."
The couple’s story is one of many the ODT has received about the beleaguered ED, some people complaining of waiting times of more than 12 hours.
"To be fair, the people that helped us were kind, were great. However, obviously it’s all about the wait time here — it just took too long," the woman’s partner said.
"As soon as you’re out of that waiting room, the New Zealand healthcare is fine.
"But as long as you’re in the waiting room, it’s like a Third World country."
