Hospital probes incident of patient who fell to death

KOTA KINABALU: Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) will conduct a detailed investigation into the incident of a patient who fell to her death from the eighth floor of the hospital, and will take appropriate remedial action.

State Health Director, Datuk Christina Rundi said this in a statement yesterday.

“The Sabah State Health Department would like to refer to the statement of the Kota Kinabalu District Police Chief about a patient found dead inside the Queen Elizabeth Hospital area.

“On 21 October 2020 at 9.15 pm, a female patient was found dead inside the Queen Elizabeth Hospital area by a RELA officer, after receiving a report from a hospital staff from the 6th floor, who heard a loud bang.

“The investigation found that the female patient, who was 63 years old, was admitted to the Isolation Ward on the 8th floor on October 13, 2020 for further examination after being suspected of having Covid-19 infection.

“However, the RT-PCR test for Covid-19 which has been conducted three times are negatives. Therefore, the hospital has planned to discharge her from the ward on 22 October 2020,” said Christina.

She also said Kota Kinabalu District Police Chief has informed the patient's family about the incident on 22 October.

The hospital's Mental Health Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) team has also contacted the patient's family to provide psychological support to them.

She said, the State Health Department extends its condolences to the family of the patient.

According to Christina, the patient's body is still in the Forensic Department of Queen Elizabeth Hospital for autopsy.

The case is also under police investigation.