Hospital carries out abortion on wrong woman in horrifying patient mix-up

A hospital has carried out an abortion on the wrong patient after a fatal mix-up at the Bulovka Hospital in Prague. The healthy woman, who was four months pregnant had gone in for a routine check-up but instead was given a curettage surgery which led to her miscarrying. The procedure was supposed to be carried out on another patient who had been booked in on the same day.

The incident, which took place at the Bulovka Hospital in Prague, a major teaching hospital in the capital of Czech Republic, was reported by CNN Prima, with hospital spokesperson Eva Stolejda Libigerová confirming: "An adverse event occurred at our Gynaecology and Obstetrics Clinic."

She continued: "According to the findings so far, as a result of serious violations and non-compliance with internal regulations by the employees concerned, an operation was started on an incorrectly identified patient."

Adding that the staff involved are off duty, she said: "In the event that a violation of binding work procedures is discovered as part of the current internal investigation, specific individuals will be held personally liable."

Both patients were reportedly foreign nationals of Asian heritage who did not speak Czech well. The procedure given, called dilation and curettage, also called a D&C, removes tissue from inside the patient's uterus. It can be used to induce a miscarriage, but is also performed for health issues unrelated to pregnancy.

Praha.IN described what happened: "The first patient, who was pregnant, came for a routine check-up, the second patient came for curettage. Both women are of Asian descent." They continued: "For incomprehensible reasons, they switched the two patients at the clinic and scratched the poor woman's child."

Shadow Health Minister Kamal Farhan told CNN Prima that an internal investigation was needed. He said: "It is a very unfortunate incident. There should be an internal investigation and if there was misconduct, the culprit should be punished."

Adding that the hospital should compensate the mother if misconduct is proven, he explained: "However, no one can replace the loss that the mother experienced with financial means." Speaking about the doctors involved in the incident Farhan continued: "No doctor can be happy about that. It's an unfortunate incident."

Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.