Hospital death probe
Deputy Public Health Minister Morakot Kornkasem yesterday ordered a probe into the death of a 17-year-old patient at a hospital in Ayutthaya.
Sakrin Wongsritha died on Saturday. His father has alleged that while inserting a rubber tube into his mouth, a doctor at Bang Ban Hospital dislodged Sakrin's false teeth which then blocked his trachea and caused him to suffocate. "I have instructed the Public Health Ministry's permanent secretary Dr Prat Boonyawongvirot to find out the truth. We will have to make things clear to the public while ensuring justice to both the patient's family and the doctor," Morakot said. Prat said the body of Sakrin had already been sent to Thammasat University Hospital's forensic science institute for an autopsy in a bid to determine the cause of his death. According to Bang Ban Hospital director Dr Natthapon Pornsawang, Sakrin arrived at the hospital's emergency unit at 7.20pm on Saturday without any vital signs. He had already stopped breathing. The doctor in charge opened Sakrin's mouth to insert a breathing tube and found his false teeth were missing leaving only the gum shield. The doctor then removed the shield and inserted the tube. "After 40 minutes of all-out medical assistance, the patient still passed away," Natthapon was quoted as saying.
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