State Report Notes Violations at Children’s Hospital
A surgical team at Children's Hospital of Orange County violated several medical guidelines when it cut into the wrong side of a child's skull to remove a tumor in January, according to a Department of Health Services report, the Orange County Register reports. The doctors then repeated the procedure on the correct side of the skull and were able to remove the tumor.
According to the DHS report:
- The surgical team did not complete a required "time out" before surgery to correctly identify where to make an incision;
- The team did not mark the child's skull where the procedure was to be performed;
- The error was not documented in the child's medical record; and
- The staff became "disoriented" after the operating table was moved to make room for an assisting surgeon (Bernhard/Knap, Orange County Register, 3/28).
The hospital by April 17 must submit a "plan of correction" indicating how such errors will be avoided in the future (Berthelsen, Los Angeles Times, 3/29).
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations also is investigating the incident (Orange County Register, 3/28). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.