The Press
May 8 2008

Nurse found girl sicker than he had been told

A medical team sent to take Charlene Makaza to Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital found her far sicker than they were led to believe, a jury has been told.

In the High Court in Christchurch, George Evans Gwaze, 56, denies the murder and sexual violation of Charlene, his 10-year-old adopted daughter.

The Crown alleges she died after a violent sexual attack. The defence says that the sickly child died of an overwhelming infection.

Nurse Brian Prendergast told the court he worked in paediatric intensive care at Starship, specialising in patient retrieval within New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. About 9am on January 6 last year, he was advised of a possible patient retrieval to Starship from Christchurch Hospital.

He arrived with a Starship doctor. Charlene, who was in intensive care, was put in their care, but events had taken over.

"Her condition was grossly more critical than we were led to believe," Prendergast said.

Charlene was on a massive drug dosage to maintain cardiac output and blood pressure, without which she would have died. Indications were she would be unable to be stabilised for the flight north. It was obvious she had had some sort of major cerebral incident, likely to be hypoxia, from which she was unlikely to recover, he said.

After further consultation with Starship, a decision was made not to take Charlene.

When they left she was on the maximum possible treatment, Prendergast said.

A police video interview with Gwaze will be played to the court today.