Patient's death under probe
The Hospital Authority is investigating after a man died a week following his admission to Kowloon Hospital with a hole in his windpipe that may not have been properly cared for.
The case was reported to the authority as a 'serious medical incident', prompting an investigation panel to question some 20 doctors and nurses. It has also been handed to the Coroner's Court.
The man, 73, had surgery in June for throat cancer at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. A hole was created in his trachea to let him breathe and he was transferred to Kowloon Hospital on November 8. His condition was stable during his stay, until the midnight of November 14, when he died.
Kowloon Hospital chief executive Dr Hobby Cheung Kwong-yu said a piece of gauze covering the opening had been secured with tape on all four sides, when it should have been affixed with a single strip.
He said it could affect the patient's breathing, but refused to say whether the blunder led directly to the death.
The patient's family had complained to the ward about the extra tape on the first day of his stay, but nothing was done to change it.
