Man to sue over hospital overdose

A 58-year-old man who was given an overdose of morphine will apply for legal aid to sue the hospital involved.

The overdose was revealed last August after the wife of the man, identified only as 'Uncle Lam', took their complaint to the Hospital Authority's Public Complaints Committee.

The couple said staff at Prince of Wales Hospital, where the man had a cancerous growth removed on March 27 last year, failed to listen to their previous complaints.

The man suffered memory loss and headaches after the dose of morphine, which the couple claim was 100 times over the prescribed limit. The hospital has never revealed how large the dose was and a spokeswoman last night declined to comment.

A report on the committee's investigation, published last week, cleared the medical staff of negligence. It found the overdose was a 'medical fault' caused by a machine that malfunctioned.

'Uncle Lam' said yesterday he wanted to seek justice. 'If my wife hadn't found out about the overdose and alerted the nurses when I was unconscious, I would not be alive today,' he said, adding he was disappointed with the committee's report. 'Even if it really was a failure of machinery, the hospital should have made sure the machine was working properly. It was a fault of the staff because it was they who ran the machine,' he said.

Democrat legislator Andrew Cheng Kar-foo, who is helping with the compensation claim, called for a revamp of the medical complaints system, saying the committee's report showed 'doctors are protecting doctors'.

Mr Cheng said he would move a motion in Legco calling for the establishment of an independent body to investigate medical blunders and enforce any subsequent penalties.