In response to the media enquiry on a sentinel event involving a maternal death at a private hospital, the Department of Health (DH) today (September 6) gave a response as follows:

     On July 6 this year, the DH received a notification of a sentinel event from a private hospital involving a maternal death. The hospital has reported the case to the Coroner.

     The DH has initiated a series of investigation and follow-up action immediately upon receiving the hospital's notification, including a site inspection on the day of receiving notification to verify the hospital's compliance with the regulation under the Code of Practice for Private Hospitals in respect of staffing, accommodation or equipment. The DH has also reviewed the hospital's credentialing mechanism on doctor's qualification, experience, performance and eligibility to work at the hospital. Moreover, the DH has requested the hospital's Medical Advisory Committee to review the quality of care for the case and take relevant follow-up actions, as well as to submit an investigation report in four weeks. Meanwhile, the DH had sought independent professional opinion from expert on the clinical management of the case. Based on the investigation findings with consideration of expert's opinion received yesterday (September 5), the DH today referred the case to the Medical Council of Hong Kong. The relevant follow-up action of the DH is ongoing.

     ​According to the relevant regulation of the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Cap. 633), private healthcare facilities (including private hospitals) are required to report the reportable events, including sentinel events and serious untoward events, to the DH within the specified time-frame. The DH will regularly upload the related statistics and information of the reportable events onto the website of Office for Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities.

Ends/Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Issued at HKT 21:25

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