The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for Kowloon Hospital (KH) announced a sentinel event today (July 15) as follows:
A female patient staying at the psychiatric ward of KH was found unresponsive and with a towel stuffed in her mouth at 6.53am this morning. Ward staff pulled out the towel and performed resuscitation immediately. The patient was subsequently transferred to Kwong Wah Hospital for further resuscitation and was certified dead at 8.12am.
The hospital had all along been providing appropriate treatment, regular assessment and observation of emotional status since the patient was admitted on July 8. Ward staff conducted a regular ward patrol and observed no abnormality of the patient at 6.30am. KH made a report to the Police immediately and will fully co-operate in the investigation.
The hospital is saddened by the incident and will keep close contact with relatives to provide necessary support. The incident has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office via the Advance Incident Reporting System. A Root Cause Analysis Panel will be set up to look into the incident and propose recommendations. The incident has also been reported to the coroner for follow-up.
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