Hong Kong authorities to set up task force to look into hospital power disruption
- Kwong Wah Hospital’s backup electricity supply ensured no major operations were affected during 50-minute disruption, health minister says
Kwong Wah Hospital in Mong Kok said on Thursday that its power supply was interrupted at about 7pm the evening before, forcing it to transfer a procedure already under way to a different operating theatre.
It said late at night that the non-emergency surgical services affected earlier could be resumed gradually on Friday.
Secretary of Health Lo Chung-mau stressed the hospital’s backup electricity supply ensured major operations being performed at the time of the disruption were not affected.
“Non-urgent surgeries” in some operating theatres had to be suspended while the power supply system was checked, he added.
“The Hospital Authority, especially Kwong Wah Hospital, will investigate the incident and set up a task force to find out the reasons behind the power failure in the operating rooms,” Lo said. “I also want to emphasise that [public] hospital services must be of very high quality in terms of hardware and other aspects, whether it is power supply or all other equipment.”