Poor management blamed for anesthesia-related deaths

By Chen Xingjie  |   2008-10-16  |     ONLINE EDITION

FUJIAN Province's health authority today blamed poor management of a Sanming City-based hospital for four anesthesia-related deaths, citing results of the latest investigation, Xinhua news agency reported.

Four patients, including three men and one woman, died between September 3 and October 10 after undergoing surgery at the No. 2 Hospital of Sanming. All had undergone surgical anesthesia.

One victim's family has already received 400,000 yuan compensation from the hospital, according to China Youth Daily today. The 57-year-old father of the dead man urged for a clear result in the investigation.

His son, 26-year-old Feng Guangle, was hospitalized last month for acute appendicitis. He had surgery under the anesthesia the same day and had cardiac arrest during the operation. He died on September 26.

Shortly after the four incidents, medical experts from the Ministry of Public Health and the provincial health bureau were dispatched to investigate.

Fujian health officials said the investigation found the hospital had poor patient management, some unqualified medical staff and low patient safety awareness.

The local health bureau of Sanming City was also blamed for not fulfilling its responsibility as a supervisor and for not reporting the incidents to the provincial health authority immediately, the report said.

The provincial health authority has asked hospitals and medical institutions throughout Fujian to reinforce management to ensure patient safety.

It has asked the Sanming hospital to suspend the use of surgical anesthesia and suggested the city government give administrative punishment to those responsible for the deaths.

The hospital has removed its dean in the anesthesia department and replaced him with Wei Xiuwu, a veteran anesthesiologist and the hospital's deputy principal, according to Chen Baixi, a Sanming hospital spokesman.