A New Zealand woman broke her leg when she had just given birth after she was allegedly forced by a nurse to move to another ward.
Shina Ali, a 27-year-old new mum, told NZME she fractured her right tibia at Middlemore Hospital in February after a nurse who was caring for her after giving birth made her get up and walk before her epidural had worn off.
It's understood the nurse forced the woman to move to a different ward because of a bed shortage at Middlemore Hospital. Ms Ali claims that even though she told the nurse her leg was still numb, she was forced to move to a different ward because of the bed shortage.
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Counties Manukau DHB has looked into the incident, NZME reports, and recommended the hospital review the number of beds in its maternity unit so it's able to provide "best-practice inpatient care for women".
The DHB inquiry report says the woman did not receive sufficient care and the hospital's services did not meet the DHB's guidelines for transferring women to a birthing unit.
The patient was "inappropriately mobilised on a numb leg", the report says.
"She subsequently fell and fractured her tibia. This was due to competing priorities with high clinical demand in Maternity Services."
The nurse has disputed claims Ms Ali asked for a wheelchair to use instead of walking to the maternity ward, NZME reports.
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