During his evidence, the doctor said Smith may have benefited from an air ambulance transfer to Hutt Hospital. The national burns unit takes patients who have burns to 30% of their bodies. Shaw also asked Fullarton whether burn patients received suboptimal care because of the lack of a co-located burns unit and ICU. "I would say if you had to redesign the unit now, you would have the burns unit next to a major trauma centre. She said they would have liked it if he had been sent to Hutt Hospital straight away, but she couldn’t say what difference it would have made.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 17, 2026 20:08 UTC