Ningbo hospital staff disciplined following pediatric surgery death

Senior staff at the Women and Children's Hospital of Ningbo University in Zhejiang province received punishment for cited medical lapses and management failures after a child died following heart surgery, according to a report released on Sunday.

The child, surnamed Xu, died on Nov 14 after undergoing cardiac surgery at the hospital. Ningbo's health commission formed an investigation team to examine medical records, conduct on-site inspections, and interview staff. The case has been filed for medical record violations.

A formal medical accident appraisal was launched, including an autopsy carried out by a forensic institution chosen by the family. Both the police and courts have accepted the family's report and lawsuit.

According to the commission, investigators found multiple violations. The medical team was found to have insufficiently assessed surgical risks, made errors in surgical operation, failed to inform the family of intraoperative emergencies in a timely manner, and showed deficiencies in postoperative monitoring and management. The precise extent of medical fault and individual responsibility will be determined after completion of the medical accident appraisal.

At the management level, the hospital was found to have poor medical quality and safety rules enforcement, inadequate risk prevention, poor emergency response, and a lack of humanistic care for patients and families.

The commission ordered the hospital to conduct a thorough internal review and announced that: the Party secretary received a warning, the hospital president was given a demerit, the vice-president in charge of the relevant work was dismissed, the chief surgeon and the anesthesiologist were both stripped of their department head posts and suspended from clinical practice, and the pediatric intensive care attending physician was also suspended. Further measures will follow based on the results of the appraisal.

In response to public concern, the commission noted that the chief surgeon was qualified for such operations. It also clarified that the operating room had one real-time, non-recording wide-angle camera and one recording camera focusing on the anesthesia cart; no cameras are installed in intensive care wards. The surveillance setup was said to comply with current regulations.

The commission extended its condolences and an apology to the family, pledged to support them in defending their rights through legal channels, and promised to draw lessons from the case by tightening citywide oversight of medical quality and safety.