The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesman for Caritas Medical Centre (CMC) made the following appeal today (June 30) regarding a patient leaving the Accident and Emergency Department (A&E) without prior notification:

     A 24-year-old female patient with chronic disease was sent to the A&E by ambulance yesterday morning (June 29) at around 7am. The patient was found leaving the hospital without prior notification at around 8.45am. CMC is very concerned about the incident. Hospital security guards were mobilised to conduct local and hospital-wide search but in vain. Then, the hospital reported to the Police immediately.

     The patient is about 1.5 meters tall, thin build with black medium-short hair. She wore a black T-shirt, black jeans and a green backpack.

     The hospital appeals to the public to contact Cheung Sha Wan Police Station at 3661 1644 or call 999 if they know the whereabouts of the patient.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Caritas Medical Centre (CMC) today (November 18) announces two incidents concerning inappropriate treatment of patients by healthcare staff:

     CMC had earlier received complaint about healthcare staff treating patients inappropriately. CMC is highly concerned about the incident and launched an review into the complaint immediately and has been reported to the Police for investigation.

     The complaint involved two patients, who were suspected of being maltreated during the course of a caring procedure. Upon receiving the complaint, the hospital conducted a preliminary review. As the allegations were serious, CMC reported the incidents to the Hospital Authority (HA) Head Office and decided to report it to the Police for investigation. The hospital will fully co-operate with the Police on the investigation.


      


     The two staff members involved in the incident were abstained from clinical duties. As the patients involved in the incident have been discharged from the hospital, CMC will contact the patients and their families to give a detailed account after looking into the incident.

     The HA attaches great importance to patient safety. The HA always requires staff to uphold professional ethics stringently. If any inappropriate conduct is found after the investigation, the HA will follow up seriously.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesperson for Caritas Medical Centre (CMC) announced a sentinel event today (October 26):
 
     A 73-year-old male patient was admitted to the single isolation room in a medical ward of CMC yesterday (October 25) due to exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). The patient had underlying chronic diseases and required oxygen therapy. The patient’s condition as well as emotion were stable upon clinical assessment by healthcare staff at that moment.
      
     The patient was last seen by healthcare staff at 4.30pm on October 25 for blood taking. At 5.40pm, a nurse found patient hanging with a nasal cannula coiled around his neck in the toilet of the isolation room. Healthcare staff removed the nasal cannula and performed Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation immediately. Patient was then transferred to Intensive Care Unit for further treatment. The hospital reported the incident to the Police for follow-up in due course. The patient was certified dead at 1.27pm this afternoon.
      
     The hospital was saddened by the incident and expressed deep condolences to the family of the patient. It will provide assistance to the family as required and will fully cooperate with the Police in the investigation.
      
     The hospital is very concerned about the incident which was classified as a sentinel event. The incident has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office. 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.