Protesters outside Starship Hospital supporting the parents of a baby who are trying to prevent his surgery because they do not want blood from any who has had the Covid-19 vaccine to be used.
Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Protesters have gathered near Auckland’s Starship Hospital to support parents who are trying to stop their baby’s urgent heart surgery.
About 60 protesters were near the hospital many with signs as they awaited an update on whether the operation had gone ahead this morning.
The baby was likely to require a blood transfusion after open heart surgery, but his parents did not want doctors to use blood from anyone who had received the Covid-19 vaccine.
The baby was placed under the guardianship of the High Court until the completion of the surgery and post-operative recovery.
Te Whatu Ora asked the High Court to take guardianship of the baby this week to allow the surgery to go ahead with blood from the blood service.
Justice Gault said doctors from Te Whatu Ora had been made agents of the court to carry out the surgery, including the administration of any blood products, while his parents were agents of the court for all of his other care.
A new ruling last night ordered the parents not to obstruct health staff at Starship Hospital.
Protesters outside Starship Hospital.
Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
In a statement this morning, police confirmed they were present at the hospital yesterday evening and overnight.
In a statement last night, Justice Gault said he had been informed by the lawyer acting for Te Whatu Ora that the baby’s parents had prevented doctors from taking blood tests, performing a chest X-ray and performing an anaesthetic assessment.
The parents objected and the hospital asked the police for help.
A new ruling last night ordered the parents not to do so.
The health service said officials would not be commenting on specific details of individual patient care or providing clinical status updates for ethical and privacy reasons.
Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai Auckland interim director, Dr Mike Shepherd, said it remained a priority to work alongside the baby’s whānau to care for him.
“In addition, we’re doing everything we can to support our teams through a difficult situation for all involved,” he said.
He confirmed a person had been trespassed from the hospital.
“As general comment, from time to time, it may be necessary to trespass an individual or individuals from our site, sometimes only for a few hours, if they are impacting our clinical team’s ability to care for patients.”
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