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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The 30th issue of "HA Risk Alert" was published today (July 26) by the Hospital Authority (HA) as a risk management and communication initiative to further strengthen the reporting and monitoring of medical incidents in public hospitals.
The reported sentinel events analysed in this issue include two cases of retained consumables and instrument and two patient suicide cases. Subsequent to root cause analyses, recommendations are made and shared in this publication to avoid similar events in future.
During the reporting period, there were 28 reported serious untoward events, comprising 26 medication incidents and two cases of patient misidentification. Among the medication incidents, highlights of three cases of overlooking known drug allergy were shared, alongside some practical tips and good practices for minimising similar incidents.
The publication also presents the statistics of medication incidents in the second half of 2012.
The publication has been distributed to all health-care professionals in public hospitals for continuous quality improvement purposes. It can also be accessed by the public at www.ha.org.hk/riskalert.
"HA Risk Alert" is published on a quarterly basis and posted on the HA website every last working Friday in the months of January, April, July and October. The next issue will be published on October 25, 2013.
Ends/Friday, July 26, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:54
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