Hong Kong nurse’s screening oversight could have started chain of events leading to patient’s death, coroner says
- Inquest into death of Kay Chee, 83, reveals nurse extubated him while he was sitting in an armchair, contrary to standard practice to remove catheter when patient is lying down
- Another nurse acknowledges she relied on her intuition in determining patient’s condition, adding the assessment was ‘rushed’ as she was very busy at the time
A nurse’s incomplete screening of a patient admitted to a Hong Kong hospital might have triggered a chain of events extending to a medical blunder and ending with the death of the elderly man five years ago, a coroner has suggested.
An inquest began on Tuesday into the cause and circumstances of the death of retired taxi driver Kay Chee, 83, who was admitted to Queen Mary Hospital initially for a medical check-up but died 10 days later after suffering two cardiac arrests in three days, despite having no history of heart disease.
The Coroner’s Court heard Kay was admitted for an overnight stay on May 19, 2016 to undergo a computer scan of his carotid arteries following a stent placement and an examination of his kidneys, but he stumbled at the hospital and was forced to have emergency surgery.
Kay’s condition fluctuated after the operation due to blood loss. He was resuscitated after having the first heart attack on the night of May 25. His family agreed to send him to intensive care and have a catheter inserted into his body.
Two days later, a nurse at the intensive care unit extubated him while he was sitting in an armchair, contrary to standard practice where the tube is removed while the person is lying down.
His son, Stephen Kay Chi-fai, told the court an ICU consultant explained to him that taking out the tube while the patient was in that position caused air to enter his bloodstream and blocked his veins.
Shortly after, his heart stopped and he was resuscitated after four minutes, but his condition never improved. He was certified dead in the early hours of May 30.
