Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

Conservation lovers glued to a black and white livestream from a remote island off the coast of New Zealand on Sunday can safely claim to be the only people to have seen a critically endangered kākāpō lay an egg in real time.

The images beamed to the world from a large cavity beneath a rātā tree on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island showed 23-year-old Rakiura laying her second egg of the season, the product of a dalliance with Kōmaru a week earlier.

The pair are among just 236 of the flightless parrots alive.

More than than 20,000 people have tuned in to watch Rakiura in her nest since the feed went live on 23 January.

Kākāpō only breed every two to four years and this year’s season could the best yet following a bumper mast, or mass fruiting of rimu berries.

They are predominately based on Whenua Hou, three kilometres west of Stewart Island/Rakiura, with two other breeding populations on Fiordland’s Pukenui/Anchor Island and Te Kākāhu/Chalky Island.

Department of Conservation (DOC) ranger Jake Osborne told RNZ’s Kākāpō Files podcast that monitoring technology allowed experts to keep an eye on the eggs and learn more about the elusive parrot’s nesting behaviour.

While Rakiura has returned to the same nest in each of the past seven breeding seasons, the only way to confirm she would commit this year was to wait to see if she would lay her first egg there.

He said DOC staff and volunteers were able to watch that happen on 22 January.

“We’ve all been quite thrilled to be able sit and watch her in her natural nesting behaviour and for the first time we think for anyone alive today, [watch her] lay a couple of eggs. It’s pretty cool to see in full high definition,” he said.

Rakiura’s livestream did not go live until the following day, though the footage of her first egg can be seen here.

She laid another egg on on 25 January.

Kākāpō have been known to lay five eggs but Rakiura has more commonly had two to four egg clutches, usually laid about three days apart.

After mating with Kōmaru on 15 January, she was artificially inseminated on 21 January.

Osborne said getting the monitoring and streaming equipment to the remote island sanctuary was no easy task and involved a lot of effort and trial and error.

“It’s one thing to get a camera to work, it’s another thing to keep the camera working in an environment like that, with a stable connection to get enough power to run it all night and all day requires a lot of solar power, some pretty big batteries, some computers, routers, all sorts of things that let us monitor it remotely,” he said.

Osborne said Rakiura’s nest is down a dark valley, making solar power impossible, so the equipment is powered from a hill top 300 metres away.

This year’s live stream set up involved four solar panels, 26kg of batteries, 300m of cable, satellite internet, routers, voltage converters and more.

Kākāpō have also been transferred to Pukenui/Anchor Island and Te Kākāhu/Chalky Island in southwest Fiordland, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari in Waikato, North Island, and Coal Island/Te Puka-Hereka. Once abundant, by the late 1800s the birds had come under attack from humans and pests.

An early bid to preserve the kākāpō saw several hundred relocated to predator-free Resolution Island in Fiordland, then wiped out when stoats arrived just years later.

By the mid-1900s, only a few birds survived in the most isolated parts of the country, according to a DOC history of efforts to save the world’s heaviest parrot.

By the late 1970s, multiple expeditions had turned up just two dozen of the birds in Fiordland, all male, but the discovery of a large population on Rakiura Stewart Island in 1977 has formed the basis of conservation efforts since.

The birds were initially evacuated to three offshore island sanctuaries, Codfish Island/Whenua Hou, Te Hoiere/Maud Island and Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island to stem attacks from feral cats which were decimating the colony.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The health watchdog has criticised inadequate staffing at Ōamaru Hospital’s emergency department after investigating the death of an elderly woman.

The 93-year-old was given the wrong amount of saline as a result of a prescribing error in November 2023.

Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Carolyn Cooper said while she was concerned about the care provided to the woman after multiple errors by different staff, a postmortem found the prescribing error did not cause her death.

“While I acknowledge that individual staff were involved, I consider that the workload at the time meant that staff could not carry out their respective roles adequately,” she said.

Cooper found Waitaki District Health Services, which managed the hospital at the time, bore the responsibility of ensuring safe staffing and had breached the woman’s right to health care that minimised the potential harm and optimised her quality of life.

“I am critical that the ED (emergency department) did not have adequate staffing levels to manage high patient numbers and that this had an impact on the standard of care provided to Mrs A by multiple staff,” she said.

Cooper recommended Waitaki District Health Services apologise to the woman’s family and noted the organisation had continued to recruit and employ more staff and boosted training for nursing staff on the infusion of IV fluids.

She said Waitaki had guidelines in place relating to saline but steps had been taken to make the information more widely available.

A sole doctor on a busy emergency department night shift

The woman was seen by a hospital doctor who diagnosed her with pneumonia, urinary retention and severe hyponatraemia, or abnormally low sodium levels in her blood, in November 2023.

He prescribed her 100ml of three per cent saline at a rate of 200ml per hour before his shift finished and a different doctor took over her care.

Waitaki District Health Services acknowledged to the commissioner that the emergency department was busy.

“Dr C was the sole doctor covering Ōamaru Hospital on night shift and was responsible for all ED patients, the acute medical/ward patients, arranging transfers, speaking to consultants at Dunedin Hospital, and taking phone calls from nursing homes, as Ōamaru Hospital provides all urgent care to the region after hours,” the report said.

A registered nurse found a 1000ml bag and showed it to a nursing student, who told him the chart was wrong and it should read 1000ml not 100ml.

The night shift doctor prescribed a 1000ml bag to run over 10 hours because he believed it was a more cautious approach and asked for her levels to be checked in a few hours.

The doctor acknowledged he was not overly familiar with prescribing the saline solution and told the commissioner that there were no hospital guidelines and staff had not raised any concerns about his decision.

Staff noted there was an audible crackle while she was breathing but her condition did not appear to have deteriorated and she was alert.

It was not until the night shift doctor checked her sodium levels just before the morning handover that he realised the rise was too rapid, telling nurses to stop her fluids immediately.

When her original doctor arrived at work, he realised the error and started reversing the sodium correction but the woman soon became unresponsive and died.

A postmortem found she died from pneumonia and sepsis and the sodium correction had not been too rapid.

Cooper raised concerns about the night shift doctor’s actions because he prescribed the larger saline bag despite being unfamiliar with the solution and did not look up the hospital’s guidelines.

“Severe hyponatraemia in a severely ill elderly respiratory patient is such a red flag, and ultimately Mrs A’s care was the responsibility of Dr C despite his suggestion that staff did not raise concerns on reading his prescription,” she said.

Cooper said the woman’s treatment was a moderate departure for the accepted standard of care because the prescribing error was not responsible for her death and the workload was “at the limit of what can be considered safe”.

She also criticised the shift leader and nursing student who administered the dose despite concerns the prescription was incorrect, saying the shift leader did not adequately supervise the student.

Cooper found the woman’s deteriorating condition might have been noticed earlier if her vitals had been better assessed and documented.

She recommended Health New Zealand Southern, which took over operations at Ōamaru Hospital in July 2024, provide training for emergency department staff and rural hospitals on managing abnormally low sodium levels, update the commissioner on staffing levels, confirm different saline bags were kept in separate places and show it was improving its documentation.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

There has been a magnitude 4.5 earthquake which Geonet describes as light centred about 40 kilometres north-west of Levin.

It says it was at a depth of 4.5 kilometres.

Nearly 5000 people have reported feeling it.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A woman’s baby was stillborn after multiple errors were made and risk factors overlooked in a stretched Auckland health system.

The Health and Disability Commission said the baby’s parents were failed by Health NZ Waitematā, which runs Waitākere and North Shore hospitals.

The woman had repeatedly raised worries with health staff before she lost her baby at 38 weeks pregnant in 2021.

Deputy commissioner Rose Wall’s report outlined how, at various times in her pregnancy, risks were not properly acted on.

They included the woman’s large uterine fibroid, the baby’s small size, a small amount of amniotic fluid, and abnormal heartbeat at hospital.

The situation escalated when she went to hospital at about 38 weeks pregnant, worried about a lack of movement.

After monitoring, she was sent home but returned the next day. Her baby had died.

The woman told the commission the lack of attention, repeated mistakes and poor communication caused “irreparable harm”.

“These human errors ultimately led to the death of my baby,” the woman told the commission.

“I did everything I could to raise concerns and advocate for my wellbeing and that of my baby, but I was not heard … This has not only been a clinical failure but a deeply personal tragedy that has left lasting emotional and psychological damage.”

The mistakes began early, shortly after the woman was found to have a large fibroid – a benign uterine growth that is often harmless but usually needs extra monitoring.

Her midwife referred her to an obstetrician – but not enough plans were made to monitor the baby’s growth in the weeks to come.

If that had happened, the baby’s small size may well have been identified early, Wall said in her report.

The woman told the commission she had repeatedly asked for an ultrasound from 28 weeks gestation but her midwife did not refer her until 37 weeks when the midwife became concerned about the baby’s growth.

It took 10 days to get an emergency ultrasound.

That scan showed the baby was small and had a low amount of amniotic fluid but the radiologist’s report contradicted itself, saying in one place that the fluid was normal and in others that it was low.

The next day, the woman told the midwife she had not felt her baby move since the scan.

What happened at hospital

The woman’s midwife rang the hospital to tell them the woman was on her way, having warned her she may need to be induced or have a caeserean.

She went to Waitākere Hospital where the baby’s heart was monitored.

It was found to be normal in general but there had been one instance of it dropping suddenly and recovering slowly.

After more monitoring, the heartbeat returned to normal and the woman was sent home. She was told to come back two days later for further monitoring unless she was concerned before that.

But the next day she returned because she could not feel her baby move.

The registrar did an ultrasound and could not find a heartbeat.

“Sadly, Baby A had died,” the report said.

Fault with Health NZ

Deputy commissioner Rose Wall said care provided to the mother by Health NZ Waitematā was inadequate.

“No action was taken in light of the large fibroid; information that was provided by the [woman’s midwife] was not passed on; there was a failure to recognise that a normal-sized baby was unlikely to have low amniotic fluid volume; and it was not recognised that Baby A was a small for gestational age baby because the estimated fetal weight was plotted … incorrectly,” she said.

“These errors were made by multiple staff, for which I hold Health NZ Waitematā responsible.”

An expert who reviewed the case found the woman’s midwife had repeatedly tried to communicate to hospital staff about the baby’s risk factors – including when the hospital sent her home.

There were multiple chances to identify that the baby was small, the expert said.

“He said that if it was known that Baby A was small, then the clinical management of the acute presentation would have been different, as an small for gestational age baby with reduced fetal movements, low amniotic fluid volume, and an abnormal [heart scan] would have led to admission, if not delivery,” the report said.

Wall also criticised the radiologist for including contradicting information about the amniotic fluid in her report.

A stretched hospital

The woman would ordinarily have been sent to North Shore Hospital but it was too full when her midwife called so she was sent to the smaller maternity unit at Waitākere.

The senior obstetrician at Waitākere that day told the commission they were not consulted or informed about the diversion order.

“They became aware of it only when patients started to arrive from North Shore Hospital,” the report said.

There was normally only one senior obstetrician on duty there, but she requested back up and Health NZ had sent a junior doctor to help.

Health NZ responds

Health NZ said it fully accepted the findings and recommendations in the report.

Its director of operations at Waitematā, Brad Healey, said it aimed to provide excellent healthcare and was deeply sorry it did not in this case.

“We have apologised to our patient for the failings identified in the report, the ongoing distress and acknowledged that this apology is likely to be of limited comfort after such a tragic loss,” he said.

Health NZ Waitematā had made process changes including to ensure abnormal findings or urgent issues are escalated as soon as possible, he said.

The commission’s report said the organisation also had contingency plans in place if maternity patients had to be diverted to other hospitals.

The mother told the commission she wanted to see change.

“I hope that this reaches the outcome it deserves so that no other mother or family has to experience the same preventable heartbreak,” she said.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A man, who turned himself into to police on Christmas Day in relation to an ongoing double homicide investigation in Ruatiti, has pleaded not guilty to two unrelated charges.

The man, who’s identity is supressed for legal reasons, was not required to appear in the Whanganui District Court on Tuesday and made the plea via his lawyer.

The nature of the charges he faced was also suppressed.

It was the man’s second appearance in recent days.

On Friday, he appeared before a bail hearing.

All details of that hearing are also suppressed.

The man was due to reappear for a case review hearing in March.

The bodies of 56-year-old Brendon Leigh Cole and 54-year-old Trina Michelle Cole were found at a rural property in Ruatiti, west of Ruapehu, on 13 December.

No charges had been laid in relation to their deaths, and the homicide investigation is ongoing.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A woman who arrived at Christchurch Hospital’s emergency department in acute pain died the next day after staff missed signs she had sepsis.

The 65-year-old patient died of urosepsis, a life-threatening complication of a urinary tract infection, in January 2022.

In a report released on Tuesday, deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Carolyn Cooper said the hospital failed to provide reasonable care, making “severe departures from standard practice”.

“I concur that there was a failure to recognise urosepsis in a timely way, which subsequently led to a lack of appropriate treatment being provided to [the woman],” she said.

Health NZ completed an adverse event review (AER) into the woman’s care and also found delays in the recognition and treatment of urosepsis.

The report said the woman had a history of high blood pressure and Crohn’s disease, with a previous bowel resection, small bowel obstructions and a kidney stone.

The woman was diagnosed with renal colic after being assessed in the ED and given pain relief.

She was then transferred to the hospital’s urology unit.

The report said the woman was experiencing prolonged hypertension by the next morning.

“Throughout the day, [the woman] received intravenous fluid boluses as the primary intervention for her hypotension. However, her [high blood pressure] did not respond to this adequately,” the report said.

“The AER found that a lack of response or improvement from the fluid should have triggered a challenge of the diagnosis and consideration of other possible differential diagnoses or causes. However, this did not occur.”

Medical reviews at the time suggested the woman’s hypotension may have been due to the effects of the pain relief.

Clinicians noted the woman was “chirpy and chatty” throughout the day and that she did not have a fever but clinical notes also recorded instances of the woman shivering, a symptom of sepsis, the report said.

“The AER found that clinical staff exhibited anchoring bias – that is, there was an over-reliance on the absence of a fever, which normally is present in urosepsis, despite the lack of improvement over the day,” the report said.

“While the nurse in charge, the house officer, and the registrar were informed of [the woman’s] deterioration, there is no evidence of a senior medical officer consultation (after the initial ward round at 8am), consideration of involvement of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) team, or a rapid response call being made when [the woman’s] observations were in the red and blue zone, as required by the mandatory escalation pathway.”

The deputy commissioner found an “early warning score” chart had several incomplete observations throughout the day, with the total score also not recorded, which was not in line with Health NZ policy.

Cooper criticised Health NZ’s failure to follow its mandatory escalation and urosepsis policies and the renal colic protocol.

“Had these policies been adhered to, the delay in the diagnosis of urosepsis may have been avoided,” she said.

Cooper recommended Health NZ Waitaha Canterbury apologise to the woman’s family.

She also recommended developing an education and training plan for staff around diagnosing urosepsis and the importance of medical documentation.

Health NZ told the commissioner it had changed its renal colic protocols to highlight the need to consider an alternative diagnosis, run an education refresher on sepsis and run an education session for urology nurses.

Health NZ has been contacted for comment.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The iwi of Tauranga say their first priority is to support emergency services before considering a longer rāhui at the site of the deadly Mt Maunganui landslide.

The chairpersons of Tauranga’s three iwi, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pukenga held a joint media conference on Monday afternoon.

Ngāti Ranginui chairperson Charlie Rahiri said their thoughts and prayers remain with the families of the victims at Mauao and Pāpāmoa.

When asked about a longer term rāhui, Rahiri said for the moment they would align with the health and safety requirements at Mauao, but they intended to hold a hui to discuss the future of the mountain.

“We understand that there is some damage all around the mountain, so it could take some time to repair that damage. Outside of that we haven’t had a hui as iwi, we haven’t had a hui with our kaumātua to discuss what the long term plan for Mauao is.”

The current rāhui extended from the police cordon back to Mauao and included a rāhui on swimming on both sides of Mount Maunganui.

Updates were being shared by iwi radio station Moana Radio on behalf of Mauao Trust.

Ngāi Te Rangi chairperson Charlie Tawhiao said emergency services at the site were working under difficult conditions and he was proud of the iwi team who had been providing cultural and spiritual support.

There’d been an outpouring of grief from the community in the wake of the tragedy, he said.

“There are a lot of people here that feel very strongly about the loss of people that they don’t even know, but they are visitors to our place.

“There’s been an overwhelming outpouring of grief from Tauranga Moana not just from iwi but from all of the community,” he said.

“The affinity and passion for the maunga doesn’t only sit with iwi, the community of Tauranga Moana, whether we’re Māori or whether we’re non-Māori have a huge affinity to the mountain and those of us who climb and walk the mountain often feel its presence and the spiritual enticement that the maunga brings for all of us.”

Mauao was a part of their whakapapa, their history and would be part of the future, it would be here long after they were gone, he said.

Rahiri said the iwi team on site had been working in close proximity with the whānau of victims.

“We see each other quite regularly, often we chat and often we share, often we share our experiences and they share theirs.”

Ngāti Pukenga chairperson Kylie Smallman said multiple marae across Tauranga opened their doors to both iwi members and the general public.

“That’s just inherent in what we do. We done the same in the Covid response we didn’t have any resources but we all opened up our doors to anyone who needed it… We had a huge response from the community and a lot of thanks for us for doing that because we’re it on the sniff of an oily rag but we’re doing it, and we’re not waiting around for support.”

Tawhiao said all three iwi supported the independent review into the events leading up to the landslide at the base of Mauao announced by Tauranga City Council.

Rahiri said the iwi intended to be actively involved in the review.

“Our expectation is that iwi are at the table as we move towards recovery in the wider Tauranga area, from Pāpāmoa to Otawhiwhi there has been significant damage to homes, to roads, to infrastructure and we look forward to being part of the conversations around that as well.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand