A latest medical incident at the Caritas Medical Centre saw a 79-year-old man die as it was revealed that the valve of the oxygen cylinder had been closed for about five minutes during his transfer to intensive care.
The hospital said the man – an eye patient – had undergone peptic ulcer surgery and inguinal hernioplasty and had previously been admitted to hospital for treatment due to multiple intestinal obstruction episodes.
An eye operation was originally scheduled for him yesterday (Wed) but his condition deteriorated and he developed desaturation on Tuesday morning. Oxygen therapy was subsequently arranged.
After an assessment, the patient was suspected to have an intestinal obstruction and the medical team decided to transfer the patient from the eye ward to the ICU for further treatment.
While the patient was being escorted from the eye ward to the ICU by healthcare staff on Tuesday around 11.10 am, he developed desaturation again. Despite attempting to provide a higher volume of oxygen to the patient, his oxygen saturation level continued to decrease.
The patient arrived at the ICU at 11.15 am but healthcare staff found that the valve of the oxygen cylinder used during the transfer had not been opened. Proper oxygen supply for the patient was immediately arranged upon his arrival.
Although intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation had been performed by healthcare staff, the patient’s condition continued to deteriorate and he finally succumbed at 12.50 pm on Tuesday.
The hospital said it is deeply saddened by the passing away of the patient and has met with the patient’s relatives to explain the incident, and extended sincere apologies and condolences.
“A root cause analysis panel will be set up to look into the incident and to review the patient transfer workflow,” the hospital added.
“The hospital has subsequently implemented various enhanced measures to ascertain that all medical equipment function normally during patient transfer, so as to avoid reoccurrence of the incident. The incident has also been reported to the coroner for follow-up,” it also said.
