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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson of Shatin Hospital (SH) made the following announcement today (June 23) regarding an incident of patient transportation:
On June 20 (Monday) at around 2pm, an 87-year-old male in-patient of Medical and Geriatrics Ward was transported on a wheelchair by an outsourced contractor staff from ward to the Department of Physiotherapy. The wheelchair with the patient concerned tilted backward and the patient fell backwards onto the ground and landed on his occiput and back.
Medical staff of the ward immediately provided medical assistance. The patient remained conscious and no apparent wound was found. Patient's family was informed accordingly. The patient was subsequently transferred to Prince of Wales Hospital for further management with the consent of patient's family. The patient is now in stable condition.
According to the investigation of SH, the staff handled two wheelchair-bound patients at one time during patient transportation which is not in compliance with the service requirement. Written warning was issued to the outsourced service contractor and the requirement of compliance with safety measures for provision of patient transportation service was also reiterated. The incident was documented and would be considered in the contract renewal arrangement in future. The hospital is very concerned about the incident due to the severity and will closely monitor the compliance with safety measures by the contractor to prevent the reoccurrence of similar incidents.
The Hospital Authority Head Office has been notified via the "Advance Incident Reporting System". Family of the patient has been informed and apology has been extended. In-depth investigation will be carried out by SH. The hospital has extended consolation to the patient and will explain the investigation result to the patient's family. The hospital will closely liaise with the patient's family and will offer assistance when necessary.
Ends/Thursday, June 23, 2016
Issued at HKT 20:05
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