Hong Kong hospital accused of negligence after five-year-old girl dies
The family of the girl claim Prince of Wales Hospital delayed vital treatment for the girl, who died in March
The family of a five-year-old girl, who died earlier this year after vomiting blood, has accused Prince of Wales Hospital of negligence.
The cause of Hebe Leung Hoi Ching’s death in late March is still not known as the hospital has not yet provided a medical report.
Ms Wong, Hebe’s 27-year-old mother, claimed the hospital was negligent for delaying treatment for her daughter.
The girl collapsed in the street for the first time in November last year and was sent to Prince of Wales Hospital where the doctor ruled out possible diagnoses of leukaemia and haemolytic disease.
Hebe was diagnosed with moderate anaemia and was given iron supplements. Her spleen was found to be swollen but the hospital said there was no life-threatening danger.
After several more blackouts, the girl vomited clots of blood in mid-March this year. The doctor said it was due to gastroenteritis.
Two weeks later, the girl suffered another blood vomiting episode and died in the emergency room of Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
“They kept telling me that there was no life-threatening danger to my daughter,” the mother said, in tears. “But how come my girl died so suddenly without a concrete reason?”
The young girl used to love dancing, her mother said, but she got tired easily after the first blackout.
“She could not climb up the high stairs of her school,” Ms Wong said, adding that her daughter had to be taken to school on their maid’s back.
The family had a meeting with the hospital in May when they were told that an abnormal heartbeat was heard during a medical checkup last year. Yet the earliest time for a cardiac ultrasound examination was in July, as Hebe’s case was not recognised as an urgent one.
“Why didn’t they tell us this symptom earlier? If we had known it, we would definitely transfer Hebe to a private hospital for further medical treatments,” Mr Wong, Hebe’s grandfather, said.
Legislator Alice Mak Mei-kuen, who helped the family to file the complaints, said they are still waiting for replies from the Hospital Authority and Coroner’s Court.
The Hospital Authority did not reply to the Post on whether it would launch an investigation.
