‘Language barrier’ leads to wrong abortion in Prague hospital

Patient mix-up at Prague’s Blovka University Hospital led to a foreign woman having an abortion without her consent. Doctors blamed a “language barrier” for the error.

The expectant mother, who was four months pregnant, came to a clinic in Prague, Czech Republic, for a routine check-up.

However, the nurse, doctor, gynecologist and anesthetist failed to notice a critical error that led to her mistakenly anesthetizing another patient, also a foreigner, according to the Daily Mail.

Another patient was scheduled for a dilation and curettage, an abortion.

Anesthesia and subsequent surgery caused the pregnant woman to miscarry.

The incident occurred on March 25.

Hospital Investigation and Response

Hospital officials are taking the incident very seriously. The staff member involved in the error has been suspended and a full investigation is underway to determine how the error occurred.

It is unclear what language medical professionals use when communicating with affected patients.

David Marx, president of the Czech Association for Healthcare Quality, stressed the need for a thorough analysis to prevent such an incident from happening again.

Bulovka spokesperson Eva Stolejda Libigerova said the operation was performed on the wrong patient due to serious breaches of internal regulations by the staff involved.

A health expert told local media that in addition to staff negligence, the tragic incident was likely due to a language barrier.

“A Czech-speaking patient may actively resist the fact that she will undergo a procedure that she does not understand,” Jan Přáda, a gynecologist and vice president of the Czech Medical Association, told Czech media outlet Seznam Zpravy.

The Czech Ministry of Health also expressed sincere regret for what they described as an “inexcusable human error.”

They have confirmed that the hospital will compensate patients for the physical and emotional trauma they have suffered.

This isn’t the first time such medical malpractice has made headlines.

A similar incident occurred in South Korea in 2019, when a doctor failed to follow correct identification procedures and performed an abortion on the wrong patient who was six weeks pregnant.