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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for Ruttonjee and Tang Shiu Kin Hospitals (RHTSK) today (December 11) announced the following sentinel event:
A 69-year-old female patient was admitted to Acute Medical Ward through Accident & Emergency Department due to acute coronary syndrome and congestive heart failure on November 25. The patient had the history of multiple chronic diseases including diabetic mellitus, hypertension, renal disease, coronary artery disease and serious congestive heart failure. She had been hospitalised seven times in the past six months due to acute cardiac problems.
The patient underwent urgent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention on December 6 and was transferred to Cardiac & Intensive Care Unit for further management. On the evening of December 7, the patient continued to deteriorate and showed acute renal failure and metabolic acidosis. The patient was resuscitated with normal saline, diuretics and 200ml of sodium bicarbonate. The patient's conditions continued to deteriorate and required intubation and mechanical ventilation. The patient suffered from cardiac arrest on December 8 at 1.30am and cardiac pulmonary resuscitation was performed. The patient succumbed at 2.22am. During the nursing handover in the morning of December 8, it was noted that 400ml of sodium bicarbonate was actually infused to the patient. The nursing staff immediately reported the incident to the supervisors.
The hospital is very concerned about the incident and feels sorry about the passing away of the patient. Consultant in charge and the ward staff had met with the family members to explain the incident in details. RHTSK has apologised and expressed its deepest condolence to the family. The case has been referred to the Coroner and reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office through the Advanced Incidents Reporting System. RHTSK will set up an investigation panel to follow up on the incident and recommend improvement measures to avoid similar incidents in future. The investigation report, to be completed in eight weeks, will be submitted to the Hospital Authority Head Office.
Ends/Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Issued at HKT 22:32
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