A kidney has been removed from a wrong patient in a Massachusetts hospital.
According to investigation, a surgeon removed the kidney from the wrong patient after failing to confirm the patient’s identity.
Health investigators in the US said the surgeon was supposed to remove a kidney with a tumour from a patient at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester in July, but instead removed a healthy one from a different patient with the same name.
Authorities said the hospital failed to follow proper patient identification protocols by checking the birth dates of the patients who were several years apart in age.
St. Vincent has been put on notice that its Medicare and Medicaid agreements with the government will be terminated unless it takes corrective action.
The hospital said in a statement that it is taking “all necessary steps” to prevent a similar error.