Medical mistakes were inevitable because of the complexity of advanced medications and treatments, the Hospital Authority's director of quality and safety, Leung Pak-yin, said yesterday.
He was speaking a day after a report highlighted loopholes in procedures at Prince of Wales Hospital that contributed to a fatal blunder.
Dr Leung said the authority would bear full responsibility for the incident, in which a 21-year-old leukaemia patient died in June after the chemotherapy drug vincristine was mistakenly injected into her spine instead of a vein.
'The authority won't avoid responsibility. It is negotiating with the family on the compensation.
'After every medical incident, frontline staff feel the pressure. Hospitals are not 'zero-risk' places ... we have to deal with the incidents properly when they happen. We need to do our jobs well, check the procedures carefully and prevent similar things from happening again.'
Dr Leung pointed out that medical blunders occurred around the world, not just in Hong Kong.
'As advanced medications and treatments become more complicated, delays or medical incidents are sometimes inevitable. Our challenge is to minimise the risk of making mistakes. Mistakes sometimes occur, but I believe that frontline staff are all very dedicated to taking care of patients.'