Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital announces sentinel event

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesperson for Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital (PYNEH) announced a sentinel event today (March 22):
 
     A 29-year-old male patient was admitted to the orthopaedics and traumatology ward of PYNEH yesterday (March 21) for wrist laceration due to a suicide attempt at home. As the patient was assessed to be at high suicidal risk, he was placed under suicide precautions and assigned to a bed near the nurse station. An emergency operation was performed on the same day for the wrist injury. A psychiatric consultation took place in the afternoon for auditory hallucination and the psychiatrist planned to transfer the patient to the psychiatric ward for further management when his physical condition stabilised. The patient's family was informed of the clinical plan and they were encouraged to keep him company in the ward. The patient was emotionally stable after admission and regular observation as a suicide precaution was carried out by nursing staff in the ward.
 
     The duty nurse observed the patient at 1am when he returned to the ward after a CT examination and no abnormality was observed. At 1.14am, the duty nurse at the nurse station noticed a banging sound and immediately rushed to the cubicle concerned. A glass window was found broken and the patient was missing from his bed. The hospital immediately reported the case to the police. Subsequently the patient was found lying on the lawn outside the hospital main block. Immediate resuscitation was undertaken and the patient was transferred to the Accident and Emergency Department. He was certified dead at 1.43am this morning.
 
     The hospital is saddened by the incident and will keep in contact with the patient's family to provide them with the necessary support. The case 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.