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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for the Hospital Authority (HA) issued the following statement regarding the announcement of Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) today (August 7) on four incidents of retained gauze during vaginal delivery in recent months:
The HA Head Office (HAHO) is very concerned about the spate of incidents and extends apologies to the women concerned. It was noted that PWH has actively taken a number of follow-up measures including setting up a hotline service for enquiries, arranging follow-up consultation for the affected women, and forming an independent panel to investigate the root cause of the incidents and make recommendations as well. The investigation report is expected to be submitted to the HAHO in eight weeks.
Furthermore, the HA has already reminded the obstetric units of other public hospitals of the importance of complying with the standing clinical procedures and practice of counting the number of pieces of gauze after vaginal delivery. According to records at the HAHO, there was no reported incident of retained gauze during vaginal delivery over the past two years (2010-11 and 2011-12).
Ends/Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Issued at HKT 20:00
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