Equipment blunder sees premature baby die at Prince of Wales Hospital

The Prince of Wales Hospital reported late on Wednesday that an equipment handling error had occurred, leading to the death of a premature baby after it did not receive the required medication.   

The hospital said the infant was born on Monday after less than 28 weeks of gestation and had to be put on a ventilator in intensive care and infusion. The infant was also suffering from congenital heart problems and presented persistent hypotension.   

It was said that the medical staff adjusted the drug infusion rate at around 3 am on Tuesday due to the infant’s persistent hypotension, with an alarm triggered 50 minutes later.   

Upon checking, medics found the stopcock of the infusion tube not opened, preventing the drug from running through.   

The hospital said staff immediately resumed the infusion, but the infant's condition deteriorated. The baby died at around 4 pm the same day.   

The hospital said it is very concerned about the incident, expressing apology and deepest condolences to the family.   

It reported the case to the Hospital Authority Head Office, and it would set up a panel to investigate the incident thoroughly. The case has also been referred to the coroner for follow-up.   

The hospital said it had adopted immediate measures to prevent the occurrence of a similar incident, including reminding healthcare staff to be vigilant when performing drug infusion with newborn babies.