The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The 77th issue of "HA Risk Alert" was published today (April 25) by the Hospital Authority (HA) as a risk management and communication initiative to further strengthen the reporting and monitoring of clinical incidents in public hospitals.
 
     In the fourth quarter of 2024 (October to December), there were seven sentinel events reported, comprising four cases of retained instruments/material after surgery/interventional procedure, two cases of inpatient suicide and one case of a surgery/interventional procedure involving wrong body parts. Among the 31 reported serious untoward events, there were 29 related to medication errors and two patient misidentifications.
 
     "Subsequent to the incident reviews and analyses of the root causes of these incidents, important lessons for patient safety have been identified, while recommendations are made and shared in this publication to avoid similar events in the future," an HA spokesperson said.
 
     The HA Head Office has released the latest "HA Risk Alert" to all staff. 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 in January, April, July and October. The next issue is scheduled for July 2025.

Ends/Friday, April 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 16:30

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