As the mystery virus spread in early March, staff put up a 'No visitors' sign. Their bosses ordered it taken down
Prince of Wales Hospital managers ordered frontline workers to lift a ban on visitors entering the ward where Hong Kong's Sars outbreak began, fearing the effect on the public and on the hospital's image.
Staff had tried to stop visitors entering ward 8A on March 10 after 11 staff working there came down with a mysterious high fever, the South China Morning Post has learned. They put up a 'No visitors' sign and nurses were told to bar visitors. Doctors decided to stop admitting patients to the ward.
But after an emergency meeting the next day, sources said, a hospital administrator ordered the removal of the sign, saying it could create fear among the public and affect the hospital's image. The staff were told that barring visitors might prompt patients to leave the hospital against medical advice.
Infection control experts have said rapid isolation would have been critical to containing Sars.
A review panel appointed by the Hospital Authority and an expert panel formed by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa are investigating the handling of the Sars outbreak. It is understood that the investigators are critical of the hospital's failure to quickly control the outbreak.
A kidney patient was admitted to ward 8A on March 15 and discharged four days later. He then visited his brother, who lived at the Amoy Gardens estate in Ngau Tau Kok, and spread the virus there.