Photo: VCG

Probe into a baby's death following surgery in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang, which had sparked public concern and speculation, found inadequate risk assessment, surgical errors, and failures in intraoperative disclosure and postoperative care, while a medical accident appraisal is pending to determine liability.  

Ningbo Health Commission released the statement on Sunday, announcing disciplinary action against senior hospital chiefs. 

The baby surnamed Xu, five months old per earlier reports, died on the evening of November 14, 2025, after undergoing cardiac surgery at the Women and Children's Hospital of Ningbo University.

Following the incident, the commission formed an investigation team that carried out a comprehensive probe through document reviews, on-site inspections and interviews. A case was opened into irregularities found in the medical records, while a medical accident technical appraisal procedure was launched to determine medical liability. An autopsy was commissioned to the Hubei Chongxin Judicial Expertise Center designated by the child's family. 

Local police accepted a report filed by the family of the baby on November 27, and a court accepted a lawsuit brought by the family on December 12.

The investigation team concluded that the medical team did not adequately assessed surgical risks, committed errors in surgical procedures, failed to promptly inform the family of intraoperative emergencies, and showed deficiencies in postoperative monitoring and treatment. The specific medical faults and the degree of responsibility will be clarified after completion of the medical accident appraisal and other procedures, the statement said. 

The hospital was also found to have problems including weak implementation of medical quality and safety systems, insufficient risk prevention capacity, inadequate emergency response and a lack of humanistic care.

A warning was issued to the hospital's Party chief, a major demerit was recorded for the hospital president, and the vice president in charge was removed from the post, per the commission statement. 

The chief surgeon was removed from the position as head of the hospital's department of pediatric surgery II (cardiothoracic) and suspended from clinical practice; the anesthesiologist was removed from the position as department head and also suspended from practice; and the supervising physician of the pediatric intensive care unit was suspended from clinical duties. Further actions will be taken against those involved in accordance with the law and regulations based on the results of the medical accident appraisal.

According to the statement, the investigation team also conducted a thorough review of other issues of concern , finding the chief surgeon graduated in July 1994 from Wenzhou Medical University with a major in pediatrics and was appointed a chief physician in pediatric surgery in January 2014, meeting the qualifications to perform the surgery in question.

The investigation found that surgery room was equipped with two surveillance cameras. One wide-angle panoramic camera used for real-time monitoring has no storage cards and cannot play back; the equipment was inspected by public security authorities under full notarization. The other camera, dedicated to monitoring the anesthesia workstation, can store videos and play back. Other rooms in the same surgical unit have the same camera configuration. No cameras were installed in patient rooms in the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit. The surveillance configurations in the above areas comply with relevant regulations, said the statement.

We again expressed deep condolences and sincere apologies to the child's family, vowing to actively support the family in safeguarding their lawful rights and interests and to provide all possible assistance, said the commission. It vowed to draw profound lessons from the case, strengthen standardized management across the city's medical and health sector, carry out special inspections on medical quality and safety, comprehensively identify risks and seriously rectify problems.

Global Times