Overworking at mix-up clinic ignored

Health chiefs knew for two months that staff at the dispensary which gave mouthwash instead of anti-fever syrup to babies were overworked, but did nothing, it emerged yesterday.

Two more cases of babies being given the toxic mouthwash by the Cheung Sha Wan Jockey Club Clinic brought the total affected to 146. Four have needed specialist treatment. Others suffered vomiting and diarrhoea.

Two children remained in hospital yesterday.

Director of Health Dr Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun said: 'Dispensary staff did reflect to me at the time that, because of previous recruitment difficulties, they had problems getting time off.' The problem had not been resolved, though part-time workers were employed.

Dr Chan denied the medication mix-up was caused by understaffing. She did not want to attribute blame until an investigation was over.

Dr Chan said: 'We are adequately staffed, but advances in modern day medicine may have made the dispensing staff's job much more complicated and difficult. In this light, I am prepared to look at the overall manning situation.' A dispenser who has worked in government clinics for more than a decade said the workload had increased and become more complicated.

'We spend much more time explaining the content of the drugs, their side effects and dosage,' she said.