Three Hong Kong nurses guilty of professional misconduct after patient dies due to blocked airway
Man, 73, had breathing hole cut in throat, but it was covered with gauze taped down on all sides
Three nurses were found guilty of professional misconduct on Monday following a serious medical blunder in which a 73-year-old cancer patient died after a breathing hole on his throat was blocked by gauze.
This was a landmark case for the Nursing Council, the statutory body that licenses and disciplines medical professionals, with a dozen public nurses awaiting verdicts after a hearing that lasted seven months.
The three nurses who were convicted had directly participated in the care of the patient, who had advanced cancer hypopharynx, in 2011. Their nine colleagues were cleared of the charges.
The patient had undergone surgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, after which a permanent tracheostomy was made at his throat for breathing. He suffered from a stroke afterwards and was transferred to Kowloon Hospital for rehabilitation.
Following his death on November 14, 2011, it was found that the gauze over the opening had been inappropriately appended to the skin at all four edges with adhesive tape.
An investigation panel set up by the hospital the same year concluded that there was a lack of awareness among the medical staff that the patient had a permanent tracheostomy.