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A Snells Beach mother is livid after her nine-year-old son was refused hearing care because they weren’t vaccinated.
Teacher Karlie Stanbra, who is currently on 12 months leave from Mahurangi College, says she and her family have chosen not to be vaccinated for a number of reasons and did not think it would greatly affect their lives. However, the mandates on schools, and introduced by businesses, sports clubs and so on were starting to bite.
“But I was under the impression that everyone could access healthcare. It seems that’s not the case. We are being discriminated against because of our choices,” she says.
Karlie explains that on her doctor’s advice, she made an appointment for her son to try to determine the cause of his deteriorating hearing.
“It is affecting his schooling, particularly now that teachers are mandated to wear a mask. We could have gone through the public system, but that would have taken time and we wanted to get to the bottom of the problem as soon as possible.”
She made an appointment at a Southern Cross facility in Auckland city, but says she wasn’t asked about her vaccination status until she arrived at the hospital.
“When filling out forms in the waiting room, I ticked the ‘no’ box to the question, ‘Are you vaccinated?’ and 15 minutes later, the receptionist says, ‘We’ve got a bit of a problem’.”
She explained that we had to have a negative Rapid Antigen Test result before we could see the specialist.
“I would have happily provided this if I had been told it was needed when I booked the appointment, but we weren’t. There was also nothing on their website.
“They asked us to wait in the car and, by this time, my son was pretty anxious and upset. Eventually, the doctor said he would do the test but drew the line at putting a camera down my son’s throat. This meant we had to go somewhere else to finish the tests that needed to be done, including getting an X-ray. We went to Triton Hearing in Warkworth, but they also refused us because we were not vaccinated. I subsequently had a phone call from Triton and they confirmed that they are not seeing unvaccinated patients. There is nothing on their website that indicates this and, again, I should have been told this when I booked the appointment.”
Southern Cross Healthcare interim chief executive Chris White says patients may be asked for proof of their Covid-19 vaccination status, but being unvaccinated does not deny anyone access to treatment within Southern Cross hospitals.
“A number of hospitals, including our Gillies Hospital, lease space to medical specialists and these consulting rooms are independent of the hospital,” White says. “As such, we couldn’t comment on their business processes, including how they communicate with patients.”
Triton Hearing sales and operations director Tim Andrews says if patients don’t present a vaccine pass, Triton continues to provide audiological care at home with virtual hearing care services, over the phone or video call, and with contactless support including hearing aid repairs.
“The simple fact is that if we don’t request a vaccine pass from our clients, we cannot open our doors in Orange or Red under the current Covid-19 Protection Framework,” Andrews says. “Triton, like most audiology providers in New Zealand, is a private company and not defined as healthcare or part of allied health. We are instead defined as a close proximity business.”
Andrews says it is part of Triton’s standard operating procedures to check if a client has any Covid-19 symptoms or is a close contact, and to inform the client about the requirements to present a vaccine pass, scan in on arrival and wear a mask at all times.
“We are obviously disappointed that, in this instance, these procedures were not followed completely and sincerely apologise for any distress caused.”
“It just isn’t good enough and it’s very wrong,” Karlie says. “It’s been traumatic for both my son and me, and my son has missed two school days as we’ve run around trying to get this sorted. I respect that businesses have protocols, but these need to be clearly publicised.”
Kaipara ki Mahurangi MP Chris Penk says he was highly disturbed to learn that at least one provider of health services in his electorate was turning away children on the basis that they were unvaccinated.
“I have been in contact with the Health and Disability Commissioner about this case,” Penk says. “We’ve received welcome confirmation that access to healthcare is a fundamental right and they’re helping to resolve the matter.
“It’s worth noting, however, that these kinds of issues are affecting many of my constituents and as a community it’s important that we all understand the legal and moral landscape.”
