83-year-old grandmother dies after hospital fails to turn on oxygen tank
PUBLISHED ON JUL 15, 2014 6:17 AM
A grandmother died from a lack of oxygen to her brain after staff transferring her from one hospital to another did not turn on the oxygen tank after putting her on a ventilator. - ST GRAPHIC
BY IAN POH
SINGAPORE - A grandmother died from a lack of oxygen to her brain after staff transferring her from one hospital to another did not turn on the oxygen tank after putting her on a ventilator.
Madam Ramasamy Krishnama became unresponsive in the three to four minutes that passed before the oxygen was turned on, a coroner's inquiry heard yesterday. No foul play is suspected.
The 83-year-old, who had been warded in June last year at Tan Tock Seng Hospital following a heart attack, was being transferred to Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital when the incident took place about a month later.
Madam Ramasamy, who had become dependent on mechanical ventilation, died a few hours after her condition deteriorated owing to "ventilatory failure" that cut off her oxygen supply.
- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/courts-crime/story/oxygen-tank-not-turned-then-patient-dies-20140715#sthash.52eZ0PeM.dpuf
- wong chee tat :)
Showing posts with label Mount Elizabeth Hospital. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mount Elizabeth Hospital. Show all posts
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Coroner's finding on elderly woman's death: Oxygen tank was not turned on
Coroner's finding on elderly woman's death: Oxygen tank was not turned on
Coroner's inquiry into death of 83-year-old woman during hospital transfer
Jul 31, 2014 6:00am
1: At 6.40pm, a three-person Mount E Novena transfer team prepares to transfer Madam Ramasamy Krishnama from TTSH to Mount E. The nurses prepare a portable ventilator and oxygen tank. They put the elderly patient on a gurney and place her on the paraPAC portable ventilator. The team hears a hissing sound, which they take to mean that the oxygen supply to the ventilator is switched on.TNP
INFOGRAPHICS: CELESTINO GULAPA
By: RONALD LOH
It was a basic task - ensuring their patients had oxygen to breathe while she was being transferred from one hospital to another.
But when the medical team heard a hissing sound, they mistook it to mean that the ventilator was already switched on.
That mistake lead to the death of Madam Ramasamy Krishnama, 83, who suffered hypoxic brain injury, which occurs when insufficient oxygen gets to the brain, in July last year.
Yesterday, State Coroner Marvin Bay questioned whether there were sufficient safeguard procedures in place during the transfer, where the roles of the medical team are critical.
He also called for a review of protocols when transferring a patient from one hospital to another.
Madam Krishnama's son told The New Paper yesterday that his mother's death had been a shock to all of them.
"All we wanted was for her to come back (from the hospital) safe and sound," he added.
Parkway Shenton, which was handling the transfer and is part of the healthcare chain with Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital and Gleneagles Hospital, said it is "deeply sorry for the family's loss" and is taking a very serious view of the incident and has since reviewed and revised its protocols that address the relevant issues.
Read the full report in our print edition on Thursday (July 31). Subscribe to The New Paper, now available in print and digital, at http://bit.ly/tnpeshop.
- See more at: http://www.tnp.sg/news/coroners-finding-elderly-womans-death-oxygen-tank-was-not-turned#sthash.zVkE6LS8.dpuf
- wong chee tat :)
Coroner's inquiry into death of 83-year-old woman during hospital transfer
Jul 31, 2014 6:00am
1: At 6.40pm, a three-person Mount E Novena transfer team prepares to transfer Madam Ramasamy Krishnama from TTSH to Mount E. The nurses prepare a portable ventilator and oxygen tank. They put the elderly patient on a gurney and place her on the paraPAC portable ventilator. The team hears a hissing sound, which they take to mean that the oxygen supply to the ventilator is switched on.TNP
INFOGRAPHICS: CELESTINO GULAPA
By: RONALD LOH
It was a basic task - ensuring their patients had oxygen to breathe while she was being transferred from one hospital to another.
But when the medical team heard a hissing sound, they mistook it to mean that the ventilator was already switched on.
That mistake lead to the death of Madam Ramasamy Krishnama, 83, who suffered hypoxic brain injury, which occurs when insufficient oxygen gets to the brain, in July last year.
Yesterday, State Coroner Marvin Bay questioned whether there were sufficient safeguard procedures in place during the transfer, where the roles of the medical team are critical.
He also called for a review of protocols when transferring a patient from one hospital to another.
Madam Krishnama's son told The New Paper yesterday that his mother's death had been a shock to all of them.
"All we wanted was for her to come back (from the hospital) safe and sound," he added.
Parkway Shenton, which was handling the transfer and is part of the healthcare chain with Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital and Gleneagles Hospital, said it is "deeply sorry for the family's loss" and is taking a very serious view of the incident and has since reviewed and revised its protocols that address the relevant issues.
Read the full report in our print edition on Thursday (July 31). Subscribe to The New Paper, now available in print and digital, at http://bit.ly/tnpeshop.
- See more at: http://www.tnp.sg/news/coroners-finding-elderly-womans-death-oxygen-tank-was-not-turned#sthash.zVkE6LS8.dpuf
- wong chee tat :)
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Hospitals rely on tags, staff, parents to prevent mix-up of babies
Hospitals rely on tags, staff, parents to prevent mix-up of babies
By Sing Geok Shan | Posted: 20 November 2012 2153 hrs
SINGAPORE: Hospitals in Singapore have in place robust procedures to ensure that parents do not go home with the wrong baby.
But they also rely on staff and parents to prevent mistakes.
Channel NewsAsia checked with five hospitals on their systems, a day after KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) revealed its mix-up over two babies who were discharged to the wrong sets of parents on Sunday.
All babies are tagged and are carefully checked to ensure that they are matched with their mothers.
Still, the unexpected had happened at KKH.
The baby who left the hospital first had two correct tags with his mother's name.
The second baby was wearing mismatched tags.
One tag had the name of his mother, while the other carried the name of the mother of the first baby.
This incident has left many wondering why the checks were not thorough enough.
Other maternity hospitals that Channel NewsAsia checked with also rely on tagging.
Each baby is given two tags minutes after birth and when it is time to leave the hospital, staff would check both tags to confirm their identities.
Mount Elizabeth Hospital takes extra simple steps, such as getting the mothers to read out the babies' tags.
It also uses Radio-frequency identification to match baby and mother.
Mount Elizabeth Hospital's chief executive officer, Dr Kelvin Loh, said: "Only if the baby goes off the correct mother, the tag will give off a pleasant chime.
"If the baby goes to the wrong mother, it will actually sound off an alarm so that will be an additional mechanism that will help to match the baby to the right mother."
At least one other hospital is looking at using new technology to ensure that newborn babies are paired with the right mothers.
KKH is still investigating the mix-up and is working with the health ministry to ensure this will be the only and last mix-up incident.
- CNA/lp
- wong chee tat :)
By Sing Geok Shan | Posted: 20 November 2012 2153 hrs
SINGAPORE: Hospitals in Singapore have in place robust procedures to ensure that parents do not go home with the wrong baby.
But they also rely on staff and parents to prevent mistakes.
Channel NewsAsia checked with five hospitals on their systems, a day after KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) revealed its mix-up over two babies who were discharged to the wrong sets of parents on Sunday.
All babies are tagged and are carefully checked to ensure that they are matched with their mothers.
Still, the unexpected had happened at KKH.
The baby who left the hospital first had two correct tags with his mother's name.
The second baby was wearing mismatched tags.
One tag had the name of his mother, while the other carried the name of the mother of the first baby.
This incident has left many wondering why the checks were not thorough enough.
Other maternity hospitals that Channel NewsAsia checked with also rely on tagging.
Each baby is given two tags minutes after birth and when it is time to leave the hospital, staff would check both tags to confirm their identities.
Mount Elizabeth Hospital takes extra simple steps, such as getting the mothers to read out the babies' tags.
It also uses Radio-frequency identification to match baby and mother.
Mount Elizabeth Hospital's chief executive officer, Dr Kelvin Loh, said: "Only if the baby goes off the correct mother, the tag will give off a pleasant chime.
"If the baby goes to the wrong mother, it will actually sound off an alarm so that will be an additional mechanism that will help to match the baby to the right mother."
At least one other hospital is looking at using new technology to ensure that newborn babies are paired with the right mothers.
KKH is still investigating the mix-up and is working with the health ministry to ensure this will be the only and last mix-up incident.
- CNA/lp
- wong chee tat :)
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