Tampa General starts procedure on wrong patient

TAMPA -- Staff at Tampa General Hospital mistakenly started performing a cardiac catheterization last week on the wrong patient, hospital officials said Wednesday evening.

The man was not harmed, and the hospital is conducting an internal investigation. Staff members failed to follow proper hospital protocol to identify the patient before the medical procedure, said hospital spokesman John Dunn.

A doctor "had inserted a catheter and was taking readings, but they hadn't injected any dye," Dunn said. "It was very early in the procedure." In a cardiac catheterization, a thin tube is inserted in an artery and dye is injected to view blood flow in coronary arteries.

Personnel made the mistake after asking the patient his identity, without checking his wristband. Dunn could not say what the patient said or how he identified himself.

"Ultimately, it's our responsibility, not the patient's," he said.

Tampa General would not identify the patient or medical staff involved.

Lisa Greene, Times staff writer