SHIRLEY ZHAO SHIRLEY.ZHAO@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 17 October, 2015, 7:01am
UPDATED : Saturday, 17 October, 2015, 9:23am
The middle-aged man's condition continued to deteriorate after he was given heart medication before the blunder occurred at Princess Margaret Hospital. Photo: SCMP
A 58-year-old man who suffered from sepsis died at Princess Margaret Hospital on Thursday after a nurse forgot to turn on his respirator, the Hospital Authority said Friday.
The hospital has apologised to the patient’s family and will form a committee to investigate the case.
The authority said the man was admitted to the medicine and geriatrics ward of the hospital in Lai Chi Kok on Wednesday for shock caused by sepsis, a whole-body inflammatory response to an infection. A doctor then prescribed heart medication to the patient on account of his low blood pressure.
His condition deteriorated and he was sent to the intensive care unit at around 1am on Thursday, where he was prescribed a higher dosage of heart medication. His kidney functions also started to weaken and he had dialysis and was given an increased supply of oxygen.
The patient became unconscious around 5.30am and a doctor put him on a respirator to assist his breathing. Later, a nurse turned off the machine in order to adjust the placement of the ventilator modules, but the nurse forgot to turn it back on after the adjustment.
The patient’s heart stopped beating after about one minute. His heartbeat returned after emergency treatment and regained consciousness yesterday morning.
But he died at around 10pm on Thursday.
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“The hospital has explained the incident in detail to his family members and expressed its sincerest apologies,” a hospital spokeswoman said.
The case is to be handed over to the Coroner’s Court for follow-up and the investigation panel will need to submit a report to the authority within eight weeks. The hospital will decide if any punishment is necessary based on the report, the spokeswoman said.
The hospital also plans to enhance its working procedures to prevent similar incidents from happening again, she said.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1868818/lethal-blunder-hong-kong-sepsis-patient-dies-after
