Hong Kong medical social workers were in contact with 2 mentally disabled brothers before they died, health minister says
- Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau says authorities, including police, will investigate lead-up to death of brothers after their mother was admitted to hospital
- Hospital staff had contacted medical social workers, who then reached out to pair to discuss post-discharge care arrangements, he says
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau broke his silence on the tragedy amid questions over whether medical staff had done enough, saying authorities would examine the circumstances leading up to the death of the two brothers.
“As for why they were able to take care of themselves over the past four months but then eventually die at home, this will have to wait for the probe into the cause of death and the police investigation,” he said.
The two brothers, aged 53 and 55, were found dead in a 38th-floor flat at Sau Mau Ping Estate in Kowloon last Friday when officers were alerted to a strong smell coming from the home.
Lo said hospital staff had contacted medical social workers to help the pair in May after their mother was admitted.
He said the social workers had done their duty, including immediately contacting the two brothers and the patient’s youngest son to discuss her care arrangements after discharge.
Staff learned the two brothers were able to look after themselves and had been thinking about taking care of their mother once she was ready to return home, he said. The pair had also visited her in hospital.
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“What is certain is that over the past four months and from the moment their mother was admitted to hospital, our medical staff reached out to social workers who also did a lot of work in contacting her family.”
Police said there were no signs of fighting and ransacking in the flat, or suspicious injuries on the bodies.
A source familiar with the case earlier told the Post that a preliminary examination suggested the pair had been dead for some time, saying they could have died of starvation given that there was no food in the refrigerator.
The Hospital Authority on Monday said the two brothers had been considered capable of going out alone, feeding themselves and taking care of their mother once she left hospital.
2 mentally disabled Hong Kong brothers found dead ‘were able to go out alone’
The authority said the mother was admitted to Kowloon Hospital in May and the two brothers had visited her without assistance in June and July.
The brothers’ case was immediately handed over to a medical social worker from the Social Welfare Department who was stationed at the hospital, it added.
But concern groups and advocates have argued that hospital staff could have done more when assessing the self-care abilities of the two brothers.
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Tony Ko Pat-sing, chief executive of the authority, on Thursday said staff had contacted the medical social workers involved and the two brothers after the pair made their last hospital visit for their disabilities in 2018.
He said the authority had a system for dealing with patients who missed their follow-up consultations, and staff would be sent to their homes in serious cases.
But the two brothers were not considered serious cases, and they were deemed capable of taking care of themselves, Ko added.
