Case of patient left on operating table reveals the extent of doctor shortages in Hong Kong
Albert Cheng says that the government and Hospital Authority must reform policy and address long-standing problems to recruit more talent for public hospitals, to avoid more incidents that risk patients’ well-being
After Dr Kelvin Ng Kwok-chai left, Dr Tiffany Wong Cho-lam, the patient’s chief surgeon, did not proceed with the surgery, choosing to wait for Ng’s return, according to reports. The patient was left with nurses and an anaesthetist who monitored his status during the surgeons’ absence.
Eventually, Ng returned, some 90 minutes later than expected, and the operation was completed.
The patient is now in a stable condition, but the incident could have resulted in serious complications.
Hong Kong health minister voices grave concern over liver patient stranded without surgeon for three hours
Professor Lo Chung-mau, the centre’s director, admitted that the three-hour delay was “unsatisfactory” but stressed that Ng was only there to supervise, not to perform the operation. He said situations in which surgery is paused for three to four hours can occur for a variety of reasons but, in this case, the delay was unacceptable because it involved waiting for a surgeon.