Family of ‘generous, beautiful’ soul’ lays complaint

• Published date: 04 May 2024
• Author: Isaac Davison
• Publication title: Daily Post, The (Rotorua, New Zealand)

The family of Jaydyn Barnett has laid a complaint with the Health and Disability Commissioner after his death in January

Barnett, who was 29 and lived in Pāpāmoa, suffered a spine injury on January 13 after falling from a horse in Maketū.

He had no feeling from his chest down and was airlifted to Middlemore. A scan found he had a fracture in his lower spine and a blood clot behind the spinal cord, his family said.

After four days in intensive care, where he caught Covid-19, he was moved to a ward.

His mother, Diane Nowland, said a few days later Barnett had recovered to the extent that they were told he could go home.

“He was laughing, playing cards with his sister, happy that he was coming home,” she said.

Barnett’s medical records show that on January 22, he was “mobilising” to encourage blood flow. At around 2.30pm, he had a fall outside his ward.

While he was able to return to his bed and was initially talking to hospital staff, he quickly deteriorated and became unresponsive.

Barnett’s family was called back to the ward and despite desperate attempts from medics to resuscitate him, he died at around 3.30pm.

Clinical director of surgery, anaesthesia and perioperative services, Dr John Kenealy, said the hospital was working with the Coroner to establish Barnett’s cause of death. He said Barnett had been receiving the medication clexane, which is to prevent a pulmonary embolism — a condition in which arteries in the lungs are blocked by a blood clot.

But at this stage, doctors had not been able to identify a pulmonary embolism.

Barnett’s case was discussed at a committee which specialised in blood clots, and his care was “deemed to be appropriate”, Kenealy said in a statement.

There were conflicting accounts of Barnett’s care before his death.

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