Relatives of an 82-year-old man who died of an aneurism were justified in their concern over his discharge from Wellington Hospital, but the hospital now had more resources for similar patients, a coroner's inquest has found.
Samuel Shum died of a ruptured aortic aneurism in September 2008, a day after he had been discharged from hospital.
He had been admitted to the emergency department four days earlier, suffering back and stomach pain, but was not admitted to a ward until late the following afternoon.
An assessment found his aneurism showed no sign of a rupture or a leak. He was put on a waiting list for surgery and discharged two days later.
Mr Shum returned to hospital the following day, suffering pain and hypertension, and suffered a cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated but died on his way to emergency surgery.
At a coroner's inquest, his daughter Lynette Shum questioned whether her father's discharge had been appropriate, given that he had told staff he did not feel well enough to go home.
She also expressed concerns over the heavy workload on the ward at the time.
Wellington Hospital clinical leader of vascular surgery Dilip Kumar Naik said Mr Shum was not scheduled for acute surgery because an aneurism of his size had a relatively low risk of rupturing, and he had been deemed safe for discharge.
The death came during a particularly busy week in which 17 aortic patients were admitted, compared with the usual two to three in a week. Six of those patients received surgery.
Dr Naik was the only vascular surgeon available the weekend Mr Shum died.
Capital and Coast District Health Board operations manager Adrianne Blechamber told the inquest the new regional hospital, opened in April last year, had more vascular surgeons, more operating theatres and more beds available for vascular patients.
Wellington coroner Ian Smith found the family was justified in its concerns over Mr Shum's discharge and the heavy workload and understaffing at the time.
However, he noted that no recommendations were necessary due to the changes put in place since the new regional hospital opened last year.
