Neglect claim in pain tragedy

Family hope to spare others what they went through with ACC and health system.

The family of a young woman who died in January after suffering the most painful condition on Earth has laid a complaint against the medical team who cared for her. They allege 35 instances of neglect against the Bay of Plenty District Health Board, and say that she would have received better treatment had the staff treating her known more about Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Hayley Wyatt, 21, of Tauranga, died in January after spending the final four years of her life enduring the chronic disorder. It affects the nervous system and is more painful than childbirth. The McGill Pain Index lists it as more agonising than the amputation of a finger or toe without painkillers. Wyatt contracted CRPS after falling and injuring her arm. The condition spread to her legs, causing painful open wounds. ‘‘She shouldn’t have died,’’ said her mother, Charlotte Wyatt. ‘‘No-one knows anything about CRPS and I don’t want anyone else to go through what we went through.’’ CRPS is an invasive neurological disease which causes the nervous system to send signals to a limb that it’s in acute pain when it’s not. If the condition is not detected early it can often be incurable. The Bay of Plenty DHB acknowledged it had received the complaint. ‘‘We have been working with Hayley’s family since shortly after her passing to understand and address their concerns over the care she received and we continue to do so,’’ a spokesman said in a statement. The Wyatt family also allege ACC, and its contracted health provider Healthvision, were inadequate caregivers, which stemmed from a lack of understanding about CRPS. Wyatt alleged that her daughter’s care and medication were constantly delayed and the outcome could have been different had she been treated earlier. ‘‘We pleaded for more care before Christmas, but we were told it was the holidays and they couldn’t do it.’’ After Hayley died, ACC paid $10,000 for Hayley’s funeral. They also wrote a $25,000 cheque to the family to compensate them for the 24-hour care they gave Hayley in her final months. Although ACC had funded some help and personal care for Hayley, the family said they needed additional support. ACC said a new assessment had recommended increased help. ‘‘Unfortunately Hayley passed away shortly after,’’ a spokesman said. ‘‘A number of services were in place ... as well as extensive input from the DHB. Unfortunately Hayley was often resistant to having nurses and any health professional visit her at home, and when she did see them, she often did not follow their recommendations for care.’’ But Wyatt said Hayley was resistant because the nurse, contracted by ACC from HealthVision, had no knowledge of CRPS HealthVision, told the Wyatt family in an apology letter that because ‘‘CRPS is so poorly understood by healthcare professionals’’, her death would be used ‘‘to educate and heighten awareness in the wider team of community nurse specialists’’.