The Hospital Authority is set to implement new measures to ensure patient safety after a blood transfusion mishap at Prince of Wales hospital.

The authority said today it has accepted the findings of an investigation into the September 8 incident, and its subsequent safety recommendations.

A 74-year-old woman was admitted on September 7 for treatment to anaemia likely caused by gastrointestinal bleeding. But an intern administered a wrongful blood transfusion the following day. The woman is now recovering and in stable condition after the error.

The report blamed wrong patient blood sampling for the incident, a mishap due to human error, and a warning has been issued to the intern.

The recommendations include:

* focusing on system and process improvement for risk management;

* improving patient identification accuracy;

* awareness of healthcare workers' physical state and health condition; and,

* promulgating a symptom-orientated protocol to handle major transfusion reaction.