Hong Kong lawmaker ‘received priority care at public hospital but did not jump queue’

A doctor and two nurses at a public hospital gave a pro-government political heavyweight priority treatment, an investigating panel has concluded, but it is unclear if the three will be penalised.

The staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei made special arrangements for lawmaker Tam Yiu-chung, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, “simply out of good heart”, the panel said, and he did not jump the queue for surgery.

They allowed him to see a consultant without going through normal procedures, while his wife waited in a staff-restricted area during his operation.

Hospital chief executive Dr Albert Lo Chi-yuen said follow-up action would be taken against the staff in accordance with the human resources code, but he stopped short of mentioning penalties.

There was no suggestion of suspending anyone as the incident was not a blunder and did not affect patient safety, Lo said.

He admitted some of the special arrangements were inappropriate and apologised to the public for affecting the hospital’s image of providing fair treatment to all patients.