Public confidence in the city’s hospitals is paramount. They are therefore held to a high standard of patient safety. Serious failures of diagnosis or treatment with tragic outcomes do nothing to maintain that confidence. Reports detailing medical blunders and the consequences for patients and families can be disturbing. Ultimately, however, such transparency helps ensure any systemic weaknesses are addressed to prevent a recurrence and enhance patient safety. In a case in point, Tuen Mun Hospital has swiftly reviewed a botched diagnosis and delayed treatment that led to the death last Wednesday of a 57-year-old man from an initially undiagnosed heart attack. The hospital admitted to failures in clinical judgments and in communication with the patient’s family. The patient’s doctor failed to diagnose an abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG) reading as a myocardial infarction, which was left untreated for hours. According to the hospital, after the patient was admitted last Tuesday for chest pain, initial test results revealed no abnormalities. At around 4.30am the next day a second ECG did show an abnormality, but the on-call doctor did not make a timely diagnosis and continued to monitor the patient. At around 11am, after the patient complained of chest discomfort, he was moved to the cardiac care unit. However, the hospital said, he deteriorated rapidly, developing cardiac arrest. The case doctor contacted the patient’s relatives and suggested the option of stopping cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which had “made the family feel disappointed and disturbed”. The patient died at 2.32pm. After the incident, the hospital said, its medical department reinforced doctors’ attention to ECG changes and the need to “take into consideration families’ concern” towards resuscitation arrangements. Hong Kong hospital apologises after man dies from undiagnosed heart attack The case has, rightly, been referred to the coroner. It may seem at times there is no end to medical blunders at regular intervals in the city’s hospitals. To maintain confidence, prompt and transparent public reporting of such mishaps and an assurance of open-minded investigation is important. Only in this way can the public be reassured that patient safety is paramount in the operation of a hospital network that serves 90 per cent of the population.