Coroner asks nurse to take her job more seriously in hearing of taxi driver's death

A coroner has asked a nurse to take her job more seriously after she testified at a hearing into the death of an 83-year-old retired taxi driver in a suspected medical blunder. 

Driver Kay Chee was admitted to Queen Mary Hospital for tomography on May 19, 2016. On May 27, 2016, a nurse removed a catheter inserted into Kay's body while he was sitting in an armchair, although Kay was supposed to be in a lying position. His condition deteriorated, and he died on May 30, 2016. 

The six-day death inquest for Kay began on Tuesday. The case is handled by coroner Stanley Ho Chun-yiu, in front of a jury composed of four men and a woman. 

A nurse Tang Chor-kiu, who filled a risk assessment form for Kay when he was admitted to the hospital, testified in court. She was found to have made many mistakes when filling the form, including assigning an inappropriate score for the patient's risk of falling. 

She explained to Ho that her workload was too heavy back then and that she had to "work faster." 

Ho then thoughtfully told the nurse that the number of patients is not an excuse and that she cannot work with such a mindset. 

"I hope you will treat your work seriously," Ho told Tang. 

Kay's son Kay Chi-fai also testified in court. He was informed by the hospital that his father fell over in the ward on the evening of May 19, 2016. Kay's head didn't sustain serious injury. 

When the family visited the patient the next day, they found him was confined in a straitjacket. The elderly man rambled and said he felt pain in his feet and didn't know why he fell over the previous evening. After a few days, he improved and could talk to others and eat. 

On May 25, 2016, the family was told that the condition of Kay's heart had deteriorated. Water accumulated in Kay's lung, and his heartbeat weakened to about 30 beats per minute. He was not in immediate danger after a cardiac agent was injected. 

The next day, the hospital told the family that he needed to be transferred to the intensive care unit. A triple lumen hemodialysis catheter would be inserted into him to inject another cardiac agent. Kay's condition remained stable. 

At 10am on May 27, 2016, the medical team said he could be transferred to the general ward in the afternoon. But the team later called the son and said the old man "collapsed" within half an hour and reminded the family to be prepared for an emergency. 

Doctor Lau Lee-sung told the family that the man suffered from' air embolism,' meaning air got into his blood. The condition was triggered by a nurse removing a catheter when the patient was in the wrong position, leading to the man suffering a cardiac arrest. Lau tried to extract the air but failed. 

Lau also told the family that the patient's heartbeat was restored and that the incident was reported to management. 

The hearing continues.