75-year-old patient dies after dietary blunder in Hong Kong hospital
Investigation launched into a case of ‘communication problems’ within healthcare team at Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po
A 75-year-old Hong Kong resident who required soft meals choked and then died after he was fed the wrong food by a student nurse at Caritas Medical Centre, in a blunder that the hospital said was caused by misinterpretation of dietary advice by the healthcare team.
The hospital in Sham Shui Po made a public apology on Wednesday and said a root cause analysis panel would be formed to look into details of the case and measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“This is a very unfortunate incident,” said Dr Alexander Law Chun-bon, cluster chief executive of the Kowloon West group of public hospitals. “On behalf of the Hospital Authority and the cluster, I would like to apologise to the public and to the patient’s family.”
The case had been referred to the Coroner’s Court for follow-up.
The blunder happened on Monday, three days after the 75-year-old man was admitted to hospital for a bloated stomach and lack of defecation.
The man, who had to initially fast and receive intravenous injection for hydration on admission, was allowed by doctors on Monday to return to his usual diet, after showing signs of improvement.