Key Takeaways
- Briar Parfitt, a 40‑year‑old mother of five, died after leaving Palmerston North Hospital amid claims she was told she would face a 25‑hour wait.
- Hospital records indicate the average emergency‑department wait was about two hours; she was triaged and called for assessment twice but was not present in the waiting room.
- She was driven to Hawke’s Bay Hospital but became unresponsive in the car near Woodville; resuscitation efforts failed and she was declared deceased.
- Her father condemned the situation, describing it as “playing Russian roulette with people’s lives” and insisted she would have stayed had she known the wait would be short.
- The death has been referred to the coroner; the family awaits autopsy results and calls for greater transparency and improvements in emergency‑department processes.
Background and Condition
Briar Parfitt, a 40‑year‑old mother of five, had endured relentless pain for seven years after a surgical procedure went wrong, leaving her with complex regional pain syndrome. The condition required frequent hospital visits for pain management, and she was routinely prescribed a controlled combination of THC and methadone to cope. Despite the medication, her pain often flared, prompting trips to the emergency department for relief. Her chronic illness had shaped much of her daily life, and her family described her as a resilient woman who helped relatives through their own medical struggles.
Visit to Palmerston North Hospital ED
On Saturday morning, Parfitt’s pain intensified to a point where she could no longer manage it at home, and an ambulance transported her to the emergency department of Palmerston North Hospital just before noon. Upon arrival, she was triaged promptly; hospital records indicate she was called for assessment within 90 minutes of triage. However, staff informed her that the expected wait to see a clinician would exceed 24 hours. Distressed by the prospect of a day‑long wait, Parfitt decided to leave the department and return home, where her symptoms briefly eased before worsening again later that afternoon.
Decision to Leave and Journey to Hawke’s Bay
After leaving Palmerston North Hospital, Parfitt rested at home for a short period, but by mid‑afternoon her pain had returned with greater intensity. The family concluded that she needed urgent medical attention and opted to drive her to Hawke’s Bay Hospital in Hastings, believing the facility there would have a shorter waiting period. Parfitt’s teenage daughter took the wheel, and the pair set out on State Highway 2, heading southeast toward the Ruahine Range. The journey was intended to be a swift transfer to a hospital where they hoped she would receive prompt care.
The Tragic Event on the Road
Approximately 20 minutes from Palmerston North, near the township of Woodville, Parfitt became unresponsive in the passenger seat of the car. Her daughter immediately pulled over and called for an ambulance, but despite rapid emergency response, Parfitt could not be revived. The ambulance crew performed resuscitation efforts at the scene, yet she remained pulseless. She was declared deceased shortly after the ambulance arrived. An autopsy was conducted over the weekend to determine the exact cause of death, and the results are still pending as the family awaits the coroner’s findings.
Hospital Statements and Wait Time Discrepancy
Health NZ’s interim group director of operations for MidCentral, Kath Fraser‑Chapple, issued a statement asserting that Palmerston North Hospital’s emergency department was fully staffed on Saturday and that the average patient wait time was only two hours. According to the hospital’s logs, Parfitt was triaged shortly after arrival, called for assessment within 90 minutes, and called again 45 minutes later; each time she was not present in the waiting room. Fraser‑Chapple emphasized that the death had been referred to the coroner and that Health NZ would not provide further comment beyond the initial statement.
Family Reaction and Grief
Colin Adkins, Parfitt’s father, spoke emotionally at the family home in Feilding, describing the loss as having left him feeling broken and devastated. He condemned the situation, saying it felt like “playing Russian roulette with people’s lives” and insisted that if his daughter had known the wait would be short, she would have remained at Palmerston North Hospital. Adkins also referenced a recent incident at Waikato Hospital where a patient died in a toilet, noting that the family had sympathized with that tragedy just a week before enduring a similar loss themselves.
Impact on Family and Future Plans
Parfitt was a mother of five children, and her death has left a profound void in the household. The family had been anticipating a trip to Fiji in six weeks, a vacation Parfitt had eagerly looked forward to. Now, with her absence, they face the prospect of an empty seat on the plane; should they still go, they intend to bring her ashes with them as a way to keep her close. Her father highlighted how she had routinely assisted relatives with medical issues, underscoring the broader impact of her loss on the extended family network.
Calls for System Improvements
Adkins urged authorities to examine and improve emergency department processes, arguing that prolonged waits and inadequate communication put lives at risk. He called for greater transparency about actual wait times and for hospitals to ensure that patients receive timely information so they can make informed decisions about seeking care elsewhere. The father framed his plea as a push for systemic change, stressing that too many families are suffering preventable losses due to overcrowding and resource shortages within New Zealand’s public health system.
Coroner Investigation and Next Steps
The death has been formally referred to the coroner, and an autopsy was performed over the weekend to establish the medical cause of Parfitt’s passing. While awaiting the coroner’s report, Health NZ has stated it has no further information to add beyond its initial statement and that it will cooperate with any inquiry. The family, meanwhile, continues to mourn and seeks answers about the circumstances that led Parfitt to leave Palmerston North Hospital, hoping the investigation will clarify whether any miscommunication or system failure contributed to the tragic outcome.