DH investigates incident of detached dental light at government dental clinic
An incident occurred at the Tseung Kwan O Government Offices Dental Clinic under the Department of Health (DH) today (May 29), in which a dental light became detached from a dental chair. The dental light briefly struck a person who had undergone dental service, but the person concerned sustained no serious injury. The DH has apologised to the person and has immediately contacted the local supplier of the medical device in question to follow up the incident. A comprehensive inspection of all dental lights from the same batch is currently underway to ensure patient safety.
The DH's preliminary investigation revealed that, this morning, after a person received dental service in a consultation room, the dental light suddenly became detached while the dentist was preparing to move it aside so that the person concerned could get off the dental chair. The dental light struck the person's right shoulder. After an examination, no serious injury was found and the person concerned declined for accompanying by staff to hospital for further assessment. The dental light in question was repaired by the supplier's personnel in mid-April and had been operating normally since then.
The DH immediately suspended the use of the dental chair in question and arranged the supplier for conducting a comprehensive inspection of all dental lights from the same batch at the dental clinic on the same day to ensure that all have been functioning normally.
The concerned dental light in question is a Class I (low risk) General Medical Device under the Medical Device Administrative Control System. The DH has requested the supplier to immediately inspect all dental lights from the same batch to ensure safety and reliability, and to conduct an investigation and to submit an investigation report.
In addition, the DH issued a special alert on the Medical Device Division's website and notified stakeholders, including the Hospital Authority, all private hospitals, licensed private healthcare facilities and relevant medical professional bodies, informing them to contact the local supplier, Henry Schein Hong Kong Limited, as soon as possible if they are using the concerned device.
The DH will continue to liaise closely with the supplier and take appropriate follow up actions to safeguard patient safety.
Source: AI-found images
