Hospital Fined After Object Left Inside Patient

The state fines 13 hospitals -- including two in San Diego -- for violating health codes that endangered patients, including three hospitals where foreign objects were left inside patients.
     
The California Department of Public Health said Wednesday that each violation carries a $25,000 fine.

Scripps Mercy Hospital and UCSD Medical Center were among the hospitals fined:

"[Scripps Mercy] failed to follow its policies and procedures for the use and maintenance of respiratory equipment. This is the facility’s second administrative penalty"

"[UCSD Medical Center] failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when the hospital did not follow its surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a retained foreign object. This is the facility’s second administrative penalty"
     
Some hospitals were fined for not properly following surgical procedures, resulting in patients having to undergo a second surgery to remove foreign objects. Other violations include restraining a patient for radiological exams and failing to assess and intervene when a patient's condition declined.
     
The violations occurred in 2007 and 2008.