Hospitals chief Shane Solomon yesterday accused staff of having a 'political purpose' in exposing medical blunders, drawing furious criticism from doctors and lawmakers.
Hours later, he withdrew the remarks and apologised for creating confusion - but the damage appeared to have been done. A doctors' union leader called the Hospital Authority chief executive's comments unbelievable and said he had lost all confidence in him.
In just over a week, the media have reported three patients dying in identical heart operations performed by the same surgeon, a cancer patient critically ill after receiving an injection to the spine instead of a vein, and radiologists treating the wrong part of a cancer patient's lung.
Mr Solomon said after being questioned at a Legislative Council panel meeting: 'The details of the cases are so clear that it's obvious [they come from] the [Hospital Authority]. I think it's very sad. Part of morale is about how people treat each other. I take a very poor view of doctors criticising other doctors. It's important they support each other and not add to the morale problem.'
He added: 'I think the political purpose is to put pressure on the Hospital Authority and say we have a crisis in medical staffing.'
The lawmaker for the medical sector, Kwok Ka-ki, said he was 'extremely frustrated' by the remarks. 'No professional doctor would use his patient or medical cases as a political pawn,' Dr Kwok said. Health minister York Chow Yat-ngok did not believe doctors would use medical cases to pursue private interests.
