Nurse waits amid row over false-record claims

A St Teresa's Hospital nurse who was told to take paid leave after saying nurses at the hospital falsified work records does not know if she can resume work on Sunday when her six-week leave ends.

Irene Leung Yuk-han, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Non-Public Organisations and Private Nursing Staff Association, told a televised press conference last month that nurses at the hospital were forced to falsify work records to complete their jobs because the hospital was understaffed.

Her allegations triggered separate investigations by the police and the Department of Health.

The hospital, which denied any irregularities, also said it would investigate her conduct. It asked her to go on paid leave.

At lunchtime yesterday, Leung turned up at the Kowloon City hospital with four members of the Federation of Trade Unions to distribute leaflets to colleagues, patients and visitors outside the building.

The leaflets urge nurses not to sign clinical records for jobs that they had not completed, and to approach the union if they encountered problems at work.

'I want to remind colleagues that they should not break the professional code of conduct even when facing heavy work pressure,' Leung said. About one in five passers-by took the leaflets, while some of her colleagues were reluctant to take them, she said.