Though in crippling pain, the 23-year-old has been refused palliative care because she remains on IV fluids which provides her body with liquid but no nutrition. "We've been told she's dying yet she can't get Hospice care." "The DHB is not responsible for determining whether or not a person is eligible for palliative care - that's for Hospice to decide," Roberts said. A palliative care specialist the Herald spoke to said there was no reason a patient receiving IV fluids couldn't get palliative care. It was a "lottery" up and down the country in terms of access to this service, the palliative care specialist said.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 01, 2019 21:00 UTC