The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The 51st issue of "HA Risk Alert" was published today (October 26) by the Hospital Authority (HA). The publication is a risk management and communication initiative to further strengthen the reporting and monitoring of medical incidents in public hospitals.
 
     In the second quarter of 2018 (April - June) four Sentinel Events were reported, comprising a case of retained instrument after surgery/interventional procedure, two cases of inpatient suicide and a case of wrong side procedure. Among the 10 reported Serious Untoward Events, nine were related to medication error and one patient misidentification.  
 
     "Subsequent to incident review and analysis of root causes of these incidents, important lessons of patient safety are identified, while recommendations are made and shared in this publication to avoid similar events in future," the HA spokesperson said.
 
     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 is scheduled to be published earlier, on January 24, 2019 (Thursday) to dovetail with the publication of the Annual Report on Sentinel and Serious Untoward Events.

Ends/Friday, October 26, 2018
Issued at HKT 17:27

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