Probe urged for possible medical blunder of girl whose head allegedly pressed into pillow during stitching

A heartbroken father has again challenged a possible medical blunder as his 4-year-old daughter came to cardiac arrest after her face was allegedly pressed into a pillow for an extended period when medics from Yan Chai Hospital were stitching a wound last month. 

Updating the latest developments to reporters on Saturday, the father, surnamed Lai, said his daughter, Sum-yuet, is still in critical condition and a police investigation is ongoing. He added that this Father’s Day is the toughest one he has to endure and hopes his daughter will get well and come home soon. 

The possible medical blunder occurred on May 25. In the first statement, the Hospital Authority said the nurse found that Sum-yuet was unconscious and had no pulse after the suturing procedure was completed at around 11.31 pm. 

“According to the record, the nurse from Yan Chai Hospital assessed the patient’s wound prior to suturing, while the care assistant settled and stabilized the patient. The patient underwent the suturing in a prone position with her head facing right,” the second statement read. 

Lai recalled Sum-yuet was able to express herself and even threw a tantrum when awaiting treatment, saying she wanted to have ice cream. He continued that during the first stitch, Sum-yuet cried and resisted while he was standing by the end of bed to comfort her. 

He also noted that he witnessed the nurse pressing Sum-yuet’s face into the pillow. She then stopped crying and resisting after the first stitch and one of the nurses even praised her for behaving. Yet, the nurses didn’t turn Sum-yuet around to check on her. 

After all three stitches, his daughter had rolling eyes and her heart had stopped beating. The medics then immediately performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and arranged intubation. 

Lai challenged that there existed a blind spot in the guidelines about the strength of the positioning of the patient’s head. He also doubted that the hospital intentionally did not mention the nurse pressing Sum-yuet’s head into the pillow in earlier statements. 

Lawmaker Joephy Chan Wing-yan, who has been offering assistance to Lai, also challenged the nurses as to why they didn’t immediately notice Sum-yuet’s condition if her head was indeed facing right. 

Chan added that the hospital had ignored two meeting requests by Lai and only met with Lai for the first time on June 7 upon the intervention of Chan’s office. During the meeting, DNA tests revealed that Sum-yuet does not suffer from any hidden diseases and there is no history of chronic disease in the family. 

The involved nurse and care assistant have been suspended from duty pending an investigation, according to the hospital, which refused to disclose their education background and qualifications. 

Chan suggested setting up a root cause analysis panel to probe the incident and asked the hospital to review any hidden deficits in the procedures and guidelines on stitching. 

A spokesperson for the HA Kowloon West Cluster said the hospital was saddened by the incident and can understand how the family must be feeling. The Kowloon West Cluster will continue to monitor Sum-yuet’s latest developments and the medical team will provide all necessary assistance. They will also continue with the police’s investigation. 

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