Te Whatu Ora Health NZ says it's "stepped up" security at an Auckland hospital after the court became guardian of a baby needing heart surgery.
That came after the parents refused to consent to the surgery – unless the blood products needed came from people who had not received the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
Video released on social media revealed the moment health authorities – who the courts had given the power to approve the surgery and carry out the operation – were confronted by the parents.
Police officers were also deployed to assist health staff.
This afternoon, Te Whatu Ora Health NZ told 1News it had increased security this week at the hospital.
"With the high-profile nature of this case which has resulted in significant interest from the public, including some gatherings outside the hospital, we have stepped up security over the past week to maintain safety," interim director Dr Mike Shepherd said.
"This is to ensure our clinical teams can continue to focus on providing care to patients, while also facilitating whānau with visiting their loved ones," he said.
"In addition, we're doing everything we can to support our teams through a difficult situation for all involved. Our kaimahi are doing a fantastic job, working together, to focus on caring for our patients and their whānau; we are all really proud of them."
He confirmed someone was trespassed from their site earlier this week for a short period of time.
"From time to time, it may be necessary to trespass an individual or individuals from our site, sometimes only for a few hours, if they are impacting our clinical team's ability to care for patients," he said.
"These decisions are not made lightly and usually follow a number of conversations with the individual or individuals, focused on de-escalating the situation, so they can remain onsite."
1News understands the surgery was planned for this morning, although Health NZ would not confirm if it had taken place.
"We won't be commenting on specific details of individual patient care or providing clinical status updates at this time for ethical and privacy reasons."
Sue Grey, the lawyer for the baby's parents, told RNZ late this afternoon that the baby has undergone surgery today.
Grey told RNZ she had received a text message from the baby's parents confirming the surgery was finished and the baby was doing well.
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