Three errors at two hospitals

The Department of Health has received reports of three serious medical errors by private hospitals in the third quarter - two from the CUHK Medical Centre which opened last year and one from Union Hospital.

Both hospitals had failed to report to health authorities about the incidents in time, the department said, adding that all three patients involved are in stable condition.

One case involved a 45-year-old male patient at CUHK Medical Centre, a nonprofit teaching hospital at Ma Liu Shui in the New Territories. In July the patient was given an anesthetic drug to which he was allergic.

The teaching hospital of Chinese University said yesterday the patient received the anesthetic for tear-duct surgery and the doctor was aware of the patient's allergy history. The patient did not develop allergic reactions and did not have to get an adrenaline shot.

The department said there was delayed reporting of the case in breach of the Code of Practice for Private Hospitals.

In another case at the center, a 67-year-old male cancer patient was given an intravenous chemotherapy drug at the wrong flow rate in September.

The center said the infusion rate of the pump was wrongly adjusted, but the patient did not develop allergic reactions.

"The medical center reported the incident to the department of promptly after the incident happened and provided the details to the department the following day," it said.

The department said the investigation for the case is still ongoing.

The third case involved a 29-year-old female patient at Union Hospital in Tai Wai who was given an antibiotic for which she had a known allergy.

The hospital also failed to report the incident in time.

The department investigated the incidents immediately and requested both hospitals to submit reports in four weeks. Both hospitals have made reports.

"All concerned private hospitals had taken improvement measures to review and revise relevant policies and procedures," the department said.

"The department will continue to monitor the implementation of the improvement measures of the respective hospitals."

The department also received notification of an event from Union Hospital on September 13 when a 48-year-old female patient walked away from the hospital and was later found dead. Suicide was suspected.

"After examining all information provided by the hospital, the department considered that there was no evidence of noncompliance with the applicable requirements of the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance or the relevant Code of Practice in respect of accommodation, staffing or equipment on the part of the hospital, which contributed to the happening of the event," it said.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com