Woman Dies After Waiting 12 Hours at HK Hospital

Lo Chung-mau had visited the hospital in early February

There was a shocking report on Monday of a chronically ill patient who died in the washroom at the accident and emergency department of Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital after waiting 12 hours for medical care.

The case was reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and a coroner is following up.

Lo touring the A&E holding area of the hospital

On Sunday night, around 11pm, the patient arrived at the A&E with a cough and fever, but would have to wait until 11.15am the next day before getting a medical assessment.

She was said to be on stable condition at the time.

But at the appointed time, at 12.30pm and 1.45pm, staff tried to locate her and was finally found at 4.30pm and certified dead at 5.06pm following resuscitation efforts. 

"The hospital met the patient's family members on Monday to explain the details of the incident and expressed condolences to family members. The hospital will offer the necessary help to family members," a spokesman said.

The authority could not explain why the woman could not be found, and added the washrooms are cleaned seven times a day.

Nevertheless, the average wait time at a public hospital in Hong Kong more than eight hours.

When asked to comment about the tragic case, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau acknowledged the long wait times.

Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital

"Waiting for such a long time is not ideal. It is mainly due to the shortage of medical staff. The government has been taking various measures to address this issue, such as the recent Greater Bay Area Healthcare Talents Exchange Programme, which have received positive feedback and have helped our healthcare system," he said.

Lo is stating the obvious which is hardly empathetic. 

And this shortage of medical staff was happening well before the pandemic! And now thanks to the national security law, and the developments post 2019 protests, some 1,200 doctors have left Hong Kong in the last three years.

Surely Lo has to step up recruitment efforts for more medical staff than just stating the obvious...