The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) made the following announcement today (July 15) regarding an earlier event of a female paediatric patient who developed cardiac arrest during treatment in Yan Chai Hospital:
The Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko, this morning visited the patient, Sum-yuet, who is still hospitalised in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of Princess Margaret Hospital. Dr Ko and representatives from the clinical team also met with Sum-yuet's family to express deep empathy and once again apologised to them regarding the event.
Dr Ko said, "We understand that the tragic incident brought a deep impact to Sum-yuet and her family. We are deeply saddened and would like to sincerely apologise to the family again. We will follow up on Sum-yuet's treatment as best as we can, and give full support to her family amid tough times."
Dr Ko added that the HA had arranged genetic screening tests for Sum-yuet, and the results were negative. The HA has explained the results to her family, and will follow up on the event thoroughly. The HA will not rule out any possibilities as to what might have caused the event, and will continue to assist the Police in their investigation.
The HA is aware of the special care that the family needs during this difficult period, and has arranged a patient relations officer and a clinical team to closely assist the family for their different needs. They will be in touch with the family continually, explain the latest updates on Sum-yuet's clinical condition and other progress in a timely manner, and provide assistance to the family.
The HA has again reminded clinical teams through co-ordinating committees and various platforms to strengthen the monitoring of paediatrics patients when performing bedside clinical procedures, to improve communication with patients and their families as well as to arrange procedural sedations for patients when necessary. Experts in emergency medicine and paediatrics appointed by the HA earlier have also reviewed the guidelines on the practice of bedside procedures for paediatric patients in the HA, and have provided a number of suggestions.
Dr Ko emphasised that the HA attaches great importance to patient safety, and is consolidating various suggestions from the experts. The HA will once again remind clinical teams to follow and execute experts' recommendations through a wide variety of channels. Trainings will also be strengthened to ensure the safety of paediatrics patients during bedside procedures to prevent a similar event from happening in the future.
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