Electronic system that prevents tools being left inside patients to be rolled out in more Hong Kong hospitals
Tseung Kwan O Hospital had no such blunders in more than 20,000 surgical procedures since scheme’s launch in 2014
More public hospitals in Hong Kong are considering an electronic system that prevents medical tools being left inside a patient after the success of a pilot scheme.
The system, which helps medical staff count the number of surgical instruments at operations, has already been used in more than 20,000 surgical procedures since its launch in 2014. The Hospital Authority said about three more public hospitals were considering using it but few details could be released at this stage.
According to Tseung Kwan O Hospital, there were no cases of medical instruments or materials being left in a patient’s body during its operations.
Medical blunder linked to patient overload in Hong Kong public health care sector, doctors say
“This system offers more reminders and has a clearer display of information,” said Tsang Tsz-lun, a nurse from the hospital’s department of anaesthesia and operating theatre services who helped develop the system.
In the first half of this year, 10 blunders involving instruments or materials left in patients’ bodies after operations were recorded in public hospitals, according to the authority.
Compared with the use of a whiteboard or paper-count sheet in the past, Tsang said the electronic system could also reduce confusion over handwritten information.
