Staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital arranged for pro-Beijing legislator to enter operating theatre through staff entrance, let wife wait in staff-only area
EMILY TSANG, ELIZABETH CHEUNG AND TONY CHEUNG
UPDATED : Friday, 03 June, 2016, 12:55pm
Tam Yiu-chung , former chairman of the DAB. Photo: Nora Tam
Beijing-friendly legislator Tam Yiu-chung apologised on Friday morning for receiving special treatment when he went for an operation.
Staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital had arranged for Tam to enter the theatre through the staff entrance. They also let his wife wait in a staff-only area.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Legislative Council meeting on Friday, Tam said: “I did a small operation near my ear recently, and I hope it is OK.”
Thanking everyone for their concern, Tam added: “Since the operation caused a lot of inconvenience, I hereby express my formal apology again. There are investigations going on, so I will say no more.”
During the one-minute briefing, Tam repeated the words “sorry” or “apology” five times, but declined to answer questions. It was the second time in 13 hours that the former chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong had apologised.
At 9.33pm on Thursday, Tam had also issued a statement saying he was sorry for causing inconvenience to all concerned.
But Civic Party lawmaker Dr Kwok Ka-ki refused to accept Tam’s public apology and called for the Legco’s Committee on Members’ Interests to look into the matter.
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The public hospital in Jordan also apologised on Thursday night for giving the veteran legislator special treatment.
It said the special arrangements were made by individual workers without their managers’ knowledge.
Tam went in for an operation to remove a polyp near his ear on Tuesday.
According to a post on a Facebook page used by public medics, Tam jumped the surgery queue and was allowed to rest in a staff-only unit.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital apologised for the special treatment. Photo: Sam Tsang
His wife was also allowed to enter the theatre’s sterile area in normal cloths, the post alleged.
The message read: “Other nurses and doctors were angry but dared not to speak up.”
Without naming Tam specifically, the hospital said on Thursday night that it took the matter seriously and would investigate it.
It said the patient in question was allowed “to enter and leave the operation theatre through the crew entry by individual staff”, and admitted that his wife was allowed into the staff area.
“The patient was the first to receive surgery on the day”, a spokesman added, saying that arrangement was inappropriate, and that management had not known of it. He apologised to the public and said the hospital would launch a serious investigation.
Tam told the Chinese newspaper Ming Pao he did not ask for any privileges and all the arrangements were made by the doctor.
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He also said the doctor arranged an earlier surgery slot for him as “he knew that I was very busy”, the newspaper reported.
Legislator Kwok Ka-ki, himself a doctor, described the incident as “outrageous”.
He said patients never entered operating theatres through staff entrances, which are reserved for staff who have undergone sterilisation only.
“If those who have not undergone those procedures entered the aseptic entrance, bacteria might be brought inside,” said Kwok, of the Civic Party.
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He said usually patients would wash and get changed before entering the operating theatre.
Kwok said Tam’s wife being in the staff area could have breached confidentiality, as patients’ operation records are kept there.
The cleanliness of the operating theatre would also be affected, he added.
But lawmaker and private doctor Leung Ka-lau said jumping queue is not an uncommon practice for non-emergency surgeries.
The person in charge of the list for surgery has the discretion to arrange or grant discretion, Leung said on Friday morning.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1963077/dab-lawmaker-tam-yiu-chung-apologises-again-receiving-vip
