Junior Hong Kong nurses set for supervision in performing risky procedures in bid to reduce hospital blunders

Retired nurses to be rehired by Hospital Authority to oversee work of newly appointed staff

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Alice Wong explains the new training scheme for junior nurses. Photo: Elizabeth Cheung

Published: 12:01am, 23 Aug 2016Updated: 12:01am, 23 Aug 2016

The Hospital Authority will boost training for junior nurses by having retired nurses supervise them while they perform risky medical procedures. The scheme, to be launched later this year, is aimed at reducing the number of blunders.

The measure follows a decision by the Hospital Authority to train older nurses in teaching skills. Authority chairman Professor John Leong Chi-yan revealed in June that a new mentorship programme for nurses would be introduced following a spate of medical blunders involving nurses.

One of the recent cases involved a nurse from Queen Mary Hospital’s intensive care unit who failed to follow standard practice in May in removing a catheter from an 83-year-old patient, who felt unwell 10 minutes later and subsequently died from complications.

The new programme, which focuses on procedures such as tube feeding, blood transfusions and distribution of medicine, will be launched “as soon as possible” once details have been confirmed.

Retired staff will be used to instruct young nurses, who will initially receive training for two to three days while working on a part-time basis.

“These nurses are all highly experienced, but they need to learn how to teach and lead their mentees,” said Alice Wong Yuk-ngan, head of the authority’s Institute of Advanced Nursing Studies which will arrange training for the mentors.

Training for junior nurses has come under the spotlight following a seres of medical blunders. Photo: SCMP Pictures

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