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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
In response to the verdict of the Coroner's Court today (May 6) regarding the incident of a man who collapsed in the vicinity of Caritas Medical Centre (CMC) and was certified dead subsequently, the Hospital Authority (HA) and CMC issued the following statement:
The HA and CMC noted the verdict of death by natural causes and would like to express once again deepest condolences to the family of the deceased patient. We will study the verdict and the recommendations made by the jury.
The HA and CMC have conducted thorough investigations into the incident and implemented a series of improvement measures as recommended in the investigation reports. The improvement measures aim at strengthening the contingency mechanism and arrangements of public hospitals in responding to emergencies within or in the vicinity of hospital premises. These include the promulgation of a set of "General principles for handling persons requiring emergency medical assistance in the vicinity of HA hospitals and clinics".
Furthermore, special medical equipment was installed to tie in with the implementation of new contingency response measures. A total of 216 additional portable Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) were provided in public hospitals, clinics and key reception areas. The HA has also provided specific training to about 3,000 hospital staff to ensure that they are familiar with the operating procedures of AEDs to perform resuscitation for patients under emergency conditions.
Directional road signs for the Accident and Emergency Department within and in the nearby access to public hospitals have also been reviewed and strengthened to help the general public.
Specific to Caritas Medical Centre, the following improvement measures have been implemented as recommended by the investigation panel:
(1) Enhanced response activation plan - to cater to requests for urgent help within the hospital or its vicinity. The emergency team has already been dispatched within the hospital to provide immediate assistance several times;
(2) Provision of five sets of portable Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) within hospital premises and to provide training to all hospital staff;
(3) Completion of renovation of Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department - installation of a display system, additional communications equipment and a direct emergency extension telephone line to enhance the efficiency of A&E services;
(4) Additional manpower in the A&E Department;
(5) Resuscitation training for all existing and newly recruited staff; and
(6)Arranging and encouraging all staff members to participate in Neuro-Linguistic Programming training courses to improve communication skills. Regular sharing sessions held among staff members to promote patient-oriented culture.
Ends/Thursday, May 6, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:23
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