Whānau Fight for Answers After Tragic Middlemore ED Death

“I’m not doing this out of anger or revenge because nothing can bring Eden back,” Campbell told the Herald. “Preventing this from happening to other whānau is what’s driving me.” Rapana-Campbell was rushed to hospital around 9.45am on August 12. She had earlier called her mother. Campbell, who was waiting for an Uber, was on a video call with Eden when she arrived at the hospital distressed. Campbell - a mother of 10 and a family advocate - says her daughter was left in the ED hallway when she believed she should have been prioritised and placed on dialysis immediately given her health history. Eden had been on kidney dialysis three times a week at Middlemore Hospital. While still on the video call, Campbell alleges that when Eden complained of pain, she was physically pushed by a staff member and told to calm down. It is a claim that Middlemore Hospital denies. But Campbell said: “I was trying to get to the hospital and saw this happen”. Later on in the video call, “Eden looked at me and said: ‘I love you mum’, said she was sorry and collapsed. “That was the last thing my baby said to me. I still feel heartbroken,” Campbell said. “I didn’t do Christmas,” Campbell told the Herald, through tears. “I just couldn’t. This was the first Christmas without Eden and I couldn’t do it.” Campbell has requested a number of documents and video footage from Middlemore Hospital. “I want to know if the right care was given to Eden and if her death was preventable.” Talking to the Herald, Vanessa Thornton, group director of operations Counties, Health New Zealand offered her condolences to Rapana-Campbell’s whānau. Thornton also said she had been monitored after it was “immediately” clear she was so unwell. “We’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the death of Eden in August last year, and the deep impact this has had on her whānau and friends,” Thornton told the Herald. “Eden’s condition was immediately recognised as serious, and she was subsequently monitored. “We can confirm that Eden was not physically assaulted while in our care.” Two reviews had been commenced after the death. An external review had already been completed, while an internal review was in the process of being finalised. “We have reached out to Eden’s whānau on a number of occasions to offer whānau and cultural support and we will continue to do so,” Thornton said. “We will share the review findings with the whānau in the coming weeks.” Born with nephrotic syndrome - a kidney disorder that can lead to leaking large amounts of protein into the urine, leading to low blood protein, high cholesterol, and significant swelling - Rapana-Campbell was not expected to live past the age of 1. “She proved them wrong and lived 17 years without any renal therapy,” her mother said. She said her daughter lived a “really full life”, trained as a barista and dreamed of opening her own cafe. But aged 18, she developed end-stage renal failure, or stage five chronic kidney disease and would need dialysis. “That became part of her life, but she continued to show strength and determination,” Campbell said. “I moved her from Hamilton to Auckland with the goal of getting her a kidney transplant.” Tragically, she lost her health battle six months after an earlier near-death experience. In February, Rapana-Campbell suffered a cardiac arrest and was unresponsive for 10 minutes before being resuscitated. She was later placed on life support and Campbell said family were told there was a slim chance of survival. “Three weeks later, Eden woke from her coma,” the grieving mother said. Campbell said her daughter had survived because “emergency protocols were followed and the care escalated immediately”. “That showed me when systems were followed correctly, outcomes can be very different, even in the most serious of circumstances,” she said. But she questioned whether the same processes had been followed on August 12 when her daughter was rushed to Middlemore Hospital. “Eden was well known to renal and the ED, who knew of her complex health issues. “But she was placed in the hallway and not offered a cubicle. She told me she was calling for help and no one responded,” the mum claimed. While on the video call, Campbell said she saw Eden deteriorate in front of her eyes. Campbell has not just restricted herself to a search for answers over care given to her daughter in her final moments. She has also been working on an initiative she has dubbed ‘Eden’s Law’. “Eden needed senior oversight and coordinated care from multiple specialists,” the mother claimed. Campbell believes there needs to be changes to standardised care plan for high-needs patients across hospital EDs and has drafted legislative proposals for Parliament to consider. She will take her case to Parliament and has drafted a proposal calling for a legislative and clinical standard focused on ensuring consistent monitoring, escalation, multidisciplinary oversight, and whānau inclusion for high-risk patients across all emergency departments and acute care settings. “I’m hoping Eden’s Law will make a difference,” Campbell said.