Hong Kong health secretary ‘disheartened’ by doctors’ arrests and concerned about feelings of frontline staff

Secretary of Health Lo Chung-mau on Friday broke his silence on the recent arrest and charging of two doctors with manslaughter over a patient’s death, saying he was disheartened and had discussed supporting the defendants with the relevant authority.

At a meeting with staff at Queen Mary Hospital, Lo said he and the Hospital Authority were concerned about the defendants and the feelings of frontline staff.

“We know frontline doctors are worried about breaching the law inadvertently during daily work and it may affect the efficiency and professional development of our healthcare services,” he said.

Two doctors, Lam Chi-kwan and Chan Siu-kim, at United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong were arrested and charged with manslaughter on Wednesday in connection with the 2017 death of Tang Kwai-sze, 44, from severe liver failure, following a medical blunder.

Tang, a mother of two girls, was prescribed a high dosage of steroids to alleviate symptoms of kidney disease but not antiviral drugs to counteract potentially fatal side effects.

When she visited the hospital the following month, the necessary medication was again not given and she was allowed to continue a course of steroids that compromised her immune system. She suffered acute liver failure in April 2017 and was transferred to Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam, where she underwent multiple surgical procedures before she was certified dead in August 2017.