St John, Middlemore breached patient rights after mother’s seizure and baby’s brain injury

St John and Health NZ have been found to have breached the rights of a mother and her newborn following severe failures in recognizing serious warning signs and shortcomings in neonatal care.

The incident involved a medical emergency where the mother suffered a seizure, leading to a brain injury in her baby due to inadequate response and subsequent care.

The findings highlight critical deficiencies within both the emergency ambulance service and the hospital's neonatal unit during the handling of the critical medical event.