Retiree left unattended for 6 hours in Hong Kong hospital died of natural causes, coroner finds
- Incident ‘should not have happened’, inquest finds after 2021 death of retiree, 63, left unattended for over six hours in A&E department
A retiree sent to a Hong Kong hospital for treatment of chronic lung disease died of natural causes, but should not have been left unattended for hours in the accident and emergency department lobby, the Coroner’s Court has ruled.
Coroner Arthur Lam Hei-wei said in his verdict on Monday that the incident “should not have happened” if Lai Yeuk-chung had not been left unattended for more than six hours at Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei on February 26, 2021.
Lam, speaking at the end of a four-day hearing at West Kowloon Court, expressed his condolences to the widow and two children of Lai, who died at the age of 63.
But the coroner added that it was not within the remit of the inquest to take to task any specific individual for the death of the retired construction worker.
He could only “make suggestions” to the Hospital Authority in the hope that such incidents would not happen again.
Addressing Lai’s family directly, Lam said the inquest’s findings “might not reduce your pain, but I believe the Hospital Authority will follow up on my suggestions”.