‘Not Our Patient’: Auckland Medical Centre Accused of Refusing Help as Bystanders Performed CPR

Auckland, New Zealand: An old man died outside Mt. Albert Medical Centre in Auckland on September 10. The medical centre allegedly refused to help because he was not a patient at their facility. A young couple told, Leoni Mcinroe, a former anaesthetic technician, that medical centre staff had said they could not help because the man was not their patient.

According to State Media, the police were called to a sudden death on New North Road in Mt Albert at 4:25 pm on Thursday, and they were informed that the death was confirmed to the coroner.

​Leoni was working in her shop when she saw a crowd outside. When she checked, she realised an old man in his late 60s or early 70s was lying on the floor while another woman tried helping him. The woman’s husband was on a call with the ambulance. McInroe said the young couple told her that the man had a faint pulse and unusual breathing when they arrived.

McInroe said the man was lying on a busy road near a bus stop.

​Leoni told ODT, "I saw someone on the ground and ran down there. I asked if an ambulance was called, and a lady told me yes, and I asked if anyone had been into the medical centre to ask for help, and a young couple told me they had, and the receptionist told them he wasn't their patient, so they couldn't help."

​Leoni said that she immediately started to perform CPR on the man and she continued to do that for the next 15 minutes until the ambulance arrived. She said that the man was gasping for air initially, but eventually, he laid there silent.

MedBound Times earlier connected with Dr. Abishek Srihari, a Senior Resident in Cardiology at KMC Mangalore, Karnataka, who explained that chest pain and sudden breathlessness should not be dismissed, as time can be critical during a true cardiac emergency.

"In a true cardiac emergency, there is a crucial 'golden window' where every minute counts, making early recognition and reaching a hospital without delay extremely important." Dr. Srihari said.

He added that an ambulance is ideal because it provides monitoring and emergency care during transport, but when one is not immediately available, the priority should be reaching appropriate medical care by the fastest safe means.

The man who was on the call with the emergency services was told to go to the Mt Albert Medical Centre and ask for a defibrillator.

​The man told McInroe that the Medical Centre refused to help them.

​According to the reports, he said, “No, they wouldn’t give it to us.”

​McInroe said that the old man’s head was bashing on the concrete road, so she asked the woman to ask for a pillow from the Medical Centre.

​However, when the woman approached the receptionist at the hospital, she was refused, but she took a pillow anyway.

McInroe said that she was genuinely confused as to why the people from the hospital were not helping in the situation.

She said, "You'd expect better from a medical centre, wouldn't you? Oh, it's just mind-blowing."

According to McInroe, a while later, someone from a nearby gym brought a defibrillator, but after applying it twice to the old man, she realised that he might be dead because she got no response.

McInroe continued to give him CPR until the emergency service arrived.

When McInroe told the police about the refusal from the Mt Albert Medical Centre, they advised her to make a complaint with the Medical Council. McInroe said she had lodged a complaint with the Medical Council. However, the Medical Council said it could not confirm whether it had received a complaint because of privacy reasons.

When Stuff called, the practice manager of Mt Albert Medical Centre, Monali Barot, said the centre was "deeply saddened by the tragedy" and was cooperating fully with authorities.

(Rh/ARC/MSM)