Hospital contractor issues public apology over fallen surgical light

Maintenance contractor Getinge Group Hong Kong, the supplier of the fallen surgical light in United Christian Hospital in February, has issued a public apology in the newpapers on Wednesday.

This came as the Hospital Authority said in a statement yesterday that the contractor "had performed below the standard of the contract requirement, leading to the occurrence of the incident which imposed a serious impact on hospital safety."

Getinge Group has been excluded from tendering and quotation exercises for all ceiling-mount medical equipment since September, and the HA will extend the ban for a year until September 2024 it said. Getinge Group must also make an open apology to the HA and settle compensation for all losses and expenses incurred from the incident.

In the public apology, the contractor expressed sincere apologies to the Hospital Authority for any inconvenience caused by the incident. They solemnly apologize for the incident and pledge that they will actively enhance cooperation with the Hospital Authority in the future to improve safety and service quality.

In February, an anesthetic assistant at the United Christian Hospital was hit on the shoulder by a loose surgical light while making preparations for surgery. Five more lighting contraptions of the same model were later found to have the same problems.

Read more: Hospital contractor barred from tendering over fallen surgical light