'We're going to lose her': Mother, 39, dies while being transferred between hospitals - and her devastated husband warns it could happen to anyone
- Mother-of-two, 39, died from a brain aneurysm while waiting neurosurgery
- Anna Milne couldn't be treated at Dunedin Hospital due to off-duty specialist
- Faced long delays waiting to be transferred to Christchurch, where she died
- Grieving husband has shared story in the hope tragedy doesn't happen again
A grieving husband has demanded answers after his wife tragically died from a brain aneurysm after lengthy delays waiting to be transferred between hospitals.
Mother-of-two Anna Milne, 39, spent a night in Dunedin Hospital in New Zealand on Monday after being struck down with a severe headache.
She was discharged the next day but was rushed back to hospital 24 hours later after she suffered a stroke at home in Balclutha.
A family has shared the heartbreaking story about Anna Milne's (pictured) tragic death in the hope it will stop another tragedy from occurring again
Anna Milne is survived by her husband of seven years Johnny (right) and their two children
Because the hospital's only neurosurgeon wasn't on duty, Ms Milne faced a series of lengthy delays while waiting to be transferred to Christchurch Hospital for neurosurgery.
That included a five hour wait for a CT scan because staff had to be called back to work to do the procedure.
'Anna told me herself that she had had a brain bleed, and then she had another stroke, which is when I said to someone, 'We're going to lose this girl if we don't do something', and they hit the panic button then,' her shattered husband Johnny told the New Zealand Herald.
Ms Milne suffered a second bleed during the 360 kilometre flight to Christchurch Hospital, where more scans revealed more aneurysms on the other side of her brain.
Sadly, doctors were unable to save her.
Anna Milne (pictured on holidays on the Great Barrier Reef) died while waiting for neurosurgery. She has just 39.
Her devastated husband publicly shared the heartbreaking story about his late wife in the hope it will stop another tragedy from occurring again.
''I don't want to point the finger at anyone or anything like that. It's just that the same issues may affect someone else further down the track,'' Mr Milne said.
'The staff did what they had to do - I don't have any issue with them at all - but I do fear that if they have to transfer more patients to Christchurch, there will be more issues.'
Mr Milne called on the Southern District Health Board to address the critical shortage of surgeons at Dunedin.
The board has since appointed a locum neurosurgeon for six month, who will start later this month.
As it's currently investigating the circumstances and treatment leading up to Ms Milne's death, the health board was unable to comment further.
Tributes continue to pour in from family, friends and clients for the popular hairdresser described as 'magic', fun-loving and always smiling by her husband.
'She will be missed greatly by many and we are going to miss her dearly as a work mate and a friend, Anna you are one of the best,' Zouave Hair Salon recently posted on its Facebook page.
One woman commented: 'She was such a gentle soul and a beautiful person.'
The mother-of-two died following a series of lengthy delays at Dunedin Hospital (pictured) while waiting to be transferred to Christchurch
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