Patient Safety

16 Apr 2012

A major challenge chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying faces on taking office is improving Hong Kong's hospital system. The medical sector is intended to be one of the city's pillar industries....

Patient dies in drug mix-up, woman given wrong blood in latest risk list

28 Jan 2012

A chronically ill patient died after being given incompatible drugs, and another is recovering from a transfusion of the wrong blood type - the latest cases in a growing list of blunders at...

Hospital blunders increase by a third

10 Jan 2012

Serious medical blunders in public hospitals increased by a third last year, lawmakers were told yesterday.

Experts and patients' groups blamed staff shortages and poor management,...

Hospitals should own up to errors

20 Dec 2011

I wish to discuss the recent increase in medical blunders. On October 4, a newborn baby was dropped at Baptist Hospital. But the baby wasn't seriously injured, so the hospital didn't regard it as...

Hospital system in need of overhaul

6 Dec 2011

A series of medical incidents at Tuen Mun Hospital has prompted yet another review of our health care system.

Opinion

Jake Van Der Kamp

An age-old problem and the sums that just don't add up

Howard Winn

HSBC suffers the Taibbi treatment in Rolling Stone

Shirley Yam

How tycoons' IPO 'losses' may hide profits at herd's expense

Hospitals should report violence

Doctors are sworn not to do anything that would harm their patients. The Department of Health and the Medical Council are the responsible watchdogs.

Rules on quality thought key as private care grows

More patients are likely to turn to private medical services under the government's proposed medical insurance scheme, a senior medical source says, and that means the government should make...

Long hours mean errors in diagnosis, doctors say

Most public doctors say working long hours affects their job performance and medical judgment while on duty, according to a new survey.

Act now to raise medical standards

With many people leading unhealthy lifestyles, there is a rising demand for medical services in Hong Kong. People expect hospitals to offer top-quality care despite the increasing pressure on...

A simple checklist to save thousands of lives

A simple procedure is saving thousands of lives. Although it has been known for many years, it has not been widely used. This approach shows how sometimes simple ideas that respond to real needs...

Hospitals eager for external vetting

Five public and three private hospitals in Hong Kong will for the first time undergo the same external accreditation early next year in a government effort to standardise the quality of medical...