The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The 69th issue of "HA Risk Alert" was published today (April 28) by the Hospital Authority (HA) as a risk management and communication initiative to further strengthen the reporting and monitoring of clinical incidents in public hospitals.
 
     In the fourth quarter of 2022 (October to December), four sentinel events were reported, comprising three cases of retained instrument/material after surgery/interventional procedure and one case of inpatient suicide. Among the 18 reported serious untoward events, there were 14 related to medication errors and four patient misidentifications.
 
     "Subsequent to the incident review and analysis of the root causes of these incidents, important lessons for patient safety have been identified, while recommendations are made and shared in this publication to avoid similar events in the future," the HA spokesperson said.
 
     The HA Head Office has released the latest "HA Risk Alert" to all staff. It can also be accessed by the public at www.ha.org.hk/riskalert. "HA Risk Alert" is published on a quarterly basis and posted on the HA website on the last working Friday in the months of January, April, July and October. The next issue is scheduled for July 28, 2023 (Friday).

Ends/Friday, April 28, 2023
Issued at HKT 17:00

NNNN