3 SD Hospitals Fined for Patient Harm Incidents
No hospital can save every patient, every time. Hospitals must, however, do their best to ensure reasonable patient safety and care. This involves proper professional training, sanitary premises, regulated protocols, and more. If a hospital breaches these duties, resulting in patient injury or death, the law considers it medical malpractice.
Recently, the city issued fine to three such hospitals in San Diego for “patient harm incidents” – preventable mistakes that ultimately harm innocent patients. Here are the facts about this recent development.
About Penalties from the California Department of Public Health
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) investigates patient complaints and gives citations to hospitals that don’t operate according to accepted industry best practices. As part of an ongoing program, the CDPH is checking and reviewing hospitals throughout the state with the purpose of detecting possible risks and reducing the number of unnecessary patient harms. Three hospitals in San Diego received serious penalties in the most recent round of reviews: Sharp Coronado, Sharp Mary, and Vibra.
The CDPH penalizes hospitals that are guilty of infractions that put patients in jeopardy. These include any situation in which the hospital’s noncompliance with a requirement has caused, or likely will cause, patient serious injury or death. The department then releases this information to the public to raise awareness of hospitals that fail inspections. According to the latest report, three local hospitals were guilty of serious infractions that seriously harmed or killed patients.
Sharp Coronado Hospital
Sharp Coronado Hospital received a $47,025 penalty for a patient who committed suicide. The man had gone too long without oxygen, leading to severe brain damage. The hospital released him with a breathing machine and feeding tube still in his stomach. The man returned to the hospital later and asked to talk to a doctor. About an hour later, staff found the man hanging from a belt attached to a hook in a facility bathroom.
According to the report, the facility should have had a “plan of correction” that allows all ER patients to immediately see a nurse. ER nurses should also have quick emergency access to restroom doors. In this case, the staff could not open the bathroom door, as tools to open the door were not immediately available.
Sharp Mary Birth Hospital for Women and Newborns
This hospital faced an $86,625 penalty for surgical errors that led to serious patient injuries. A pregnant woman underwent a cesarean section operation during the birth of her child at the Sharp Mary Birth Hospital for Women and Newborns. A negligent surgeon failed to follow procedures and accidentally left an 18-inch surgical sponge inside the woman. The woman discovered the sponge 11 weeks later, after it had caused internal damage that required the removal of a fallopian tube and part of her colon. The physician who performed the procedure no longer works at the hospital.
Vibra Hospital of San Diego
The CDPH gave this long-term healthcare facility a $100,000 penalty for the death of a patient due to the hospital’s negligence. According to the report, the patient had multiple skin infections, a brain disorder, and other conditions upon admittance to the facility. Thirteen days after admittance, the patient fell in his room and suffered a subdural hematoma – a brain injury from the fall. He died three days later. Investigators found that the patient’s nurse failed to conduct a proper fall assessment that could have potentially found the brain injury.
Before you check into your nearest hospital, investigate any current infractions and penalties from the CDPH. You may find serious recent mistakes.