The head of a hospital 'dirty team' is expected to be criticised by legislators A doctor who is expected to be criticised by legislators for his handling of the Sars outbreak says overwhelming support from his colleagues and the public has helped him to fight back. 'I have done my best, I have no regrets,' said Joseph Sung Jao-yiu, head of medicine and therapeutics at Chinese University. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, he said he would not quit his job even if he was criticised in the Legco Sars report to be released on July 5. The epidemic that killed 299 people in Hong Kong first broke out in ward 8A of the Prince of Wales Hospital on March 10 last year and infected 11 health-care workers. It is understood that the Legco select committee that investigated the Sars outbreak will accuse the hospital management of poor infection controls and criticise its decision to re-open ward 8A. A patient was later discharged from the ward and spread the fatal virus to Amoy Gardens, the Sars hot spot where 329 people were infected and 42 died. Professor Sung was the head of the hospital's 'dirty team' that took care of Sars patients at the time. He admitted that he was 'very unhappy' about the possibility of being singled out by the select committee. 'In the past weeks, I have received lots of e-mails from my friends, colleagues and people I don't know. They were very supportive. 'Many times when I was out in the street, strangers came up to me and asked me not to worry too much about the Sars report. Last time I took a trip to Guangzhou, and when I was lining up at the border, some people came to me and encouraged me.' Professor Sung's colleagues had earlier written a letter in his defence to the select committee. Asked if he would step down, he said: 'All this support is giving me strength to keep up my work. My work is to serve Hong Kong people. If they accept me, I will stay on.' Professor Sung said he hoped the Legco select committee would take into account the findings of overseas experts, appointed by the government to assess the handling of the outbreak. Their report, released in October last year, found many deficiencies with the health-care system. But it did not blame anyone for the outbreak. 'They are experts in public health and infection control. They are the ones who have the credentials to judge [the handling of the outbreak]. I don't think that they are biased just because they are appointed by the government,' he said. Refusing to comment on the Legco report and its findings, Professor Sung also declined to say how he would react to it. He will not be in Hong Kong when the storm, if there is one, breaks. He is leaving for Baltimore next week to visit John Hopkins University. During his six-week visit, he will establish research links for Chinese University.
