{
  "id": 9566361,
  "title": "HA to raise staff alertness after fatal feeding error",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/ha-to-raise-staff-alertness-after-fatal-feeding-error-9566361",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-24T13:39:34.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "RTHK News",
    "slug": "rthk-news",
    "url": "https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1871443-20260924.htm"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hospital Authority chief executive Libby Lee announced new measures to enhance medical staff alertness following a fatal incident at Prince of Wales Hospital. The patient, suffering from dementia and stroke, choked and died after being served a regular meal instead of his prescribed pureed diet. The error occurred when a doctor incorrectly issued a diet as tolerated (DAT) order, and a nurse failed to verify the patient's previous diet records. Lee described the incident as \"highly sub-optimal\" and a \"huge shock\" for the medical community. She emphasized that improvements are necessary but disagreed that the issue could be resolved by simply eliminating DAT orders. Lee stated that the hospital will implement measures to increase medical staff awareness and ensure proper patient checks before feeding. Additionally, she mentioned that the faulty lifts at Queen Mary Hospital's new clinical block are being repaired and tested, with services set to commence only after all 28 lifts are deemed safe.",
  "summary": "Hospital Authority chief executive Libby Lee said on Thursday that new measures will be introduced to raise medical staff alertness, after a patient died at the Prince of Wales Hospital last week having choked on a regular meal instead of his prescribed pureed diet. The patient, who had a history of dementia and stroke, was admitted to the hospital on September 16 due to a deteriorating mental…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}