Senior hospital staff penalized after death due to misdiagnosis
Shanghai. July 11. INTERFAX-CHINA - Senior staff have been fired from Suining City Central Hospital in southwest China's Sichuan Province after the accidental death of a patient, while other staff were handed administrative penalties, the Ministry of Health (MoH) announced July 8.
An investigation by the ministry confirmed that a 56-year-old male patient suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD) had died in surgery after being falsely-diagnosed with esophagus cancer, the announcement said.
The hospital was also found to given unreasonable drug prescriptions, having given the patient 10 high-end cephalosporin products during his treatment.
Furthermore, the patient had been overcharged by RMB 14,111 ($2,181) on medical expenses of RMB 332,233 ($51,350) for the two months from December last year to January this year.
The deputy hospital directors in charge of medical services and finance were dismissed from their posts, along with the deputy director of cardio-thoracic surgery, the director of the intensive care unit (ICU) and the head nurse. And the doctor responsible for the patient was suspended from practicing for six months.
Meanwhile, the director of the hospital and the deputy director in charge of medical insurance reimbursement received warnings.
The ministry urged hospitals to improve service quality, ensure the reasonable use of drugs and increase transparency in service fees.
- KZ