NewHong Kong son’s quest for justice exposes failings by nurses over father’s death
Calls for department to handle medical blunder complaints after three nurses found guilty of professional misconduct over father’s death
“I hope the public knows there is something wrong with our medical system,” said Brian Wang, whose 73-year-old father, suffering from cancer, died five years ago after a breathing hole in his throat was blocked by gauze.
“There is no easy way for me to seek justice for my father. I felt I was being kicked around by different departments,” said Wang, who works in the retail sector.
Three nurses were found guilty of professional misconduct yesterday following the death of Wang’s father, Wang Keng-kao, in Kowloon Hospital, in Kowloon City on November 14, 2011.
Before his father’s death, Wang said he had twice confronted the nurses over gauze covering a 2 cm-diameter hole in his father’s trachea – the only channel through which he could breathe.
The gauze was secured with tape on all four sides, and sometimes soaked with phlegm.
But Wang said the nurses ignored his complaints and told him to ask the doctors.
According to the autopsy, a piece of gauze was found blocking Wang’s bronchi – the main passageway into the lungs.