Family accuses hospital of 'lying' after doctors arrested for leaking patient data

A dispute has erupted between the family of a deceased patient and Tseung Kwan O Hospital following the arrest of two doctors for allegedly accessing and leaking patient records without authorization.

The case, which involves the leak of details surrounding a patient's death to a media program, has taken a contentious turn as the family publicly challenges the hospital's official account.

The two doctors, a consultant and an associate consultant, were arrested by police on charges of “access to a computer with criminal or dishonest intent” earlier. The investigation is linked to a recent episode of the television show that featured a complaint from the family of a woman who died after a surgical procedure.

The son of the deceased, Cheung, spoke to Sing Tao Daily, The Standard’s sister publication, last night, accusing the hospital of dishonesty.

He stated that during a private meeting, the surgeon involved, Dr. Hung, personally admitted to making an error that led to his mother's death. This directly contradicts the hospital's public statement that the patient's death was caused by a known complication and that they had corrected Dr. Hung's wording during the meeting.

“I think it is absurd that the doctor admitted the error, but the hospital said it was a slip of the tongue,” Cheung said, expressing his frustration with the hospital's explanation.

According to Cheung, his mother was admitted to Tseung Kwan O Hospital for pancreatic cancer. Dr. Hung strongly recommended an endoscopic ultrasound-guided puncture procedure, which the family agreed to.

However, during the surgery, they were informed that her heart had stopped for 20 minutes and that she was suffering from severe internal bleeding from a hepatic artery injury—a complication Cheung struggles to link to the original bile duct procedure. His mother passed away in the early morning following the surgery.

A month later, Cheung received anonymous phone calls and letters disclosing details of his mother's surgery and alleging that Dr. Hung had been involved in similar incidents before. He claims Dr. Hung did not adequately explain the high risks of the procedure, only emphasizing an 80 to 90 percent success rate.

Following a complaint from the family, a meeting was arranged with the hospital. Cheung revealed that he secretly recorded the conversation. He claims that Dr. Hung repeatedly used the word "mistake” to describe her own role and that no senior consultant present corrected her statement at the time, contrary to the hospital's recent claims.

While Cheung acknowledges that the arrested doctors may have broken the law by leaking information, he is personally grateful to them.

"They helped me understand that things are not so simple, that there might really be a cover-up, and it gave me the courage to investigate," he said. He questioned why a doctor would resort to anonymous leaks instead of using internal reporting channels, suggesting serious flaws in the hospital's system.

Cheung explained his decision to go public was to highlight the hospital's perceived unreasonable behaviour.

"We know that doctors cannot save everyone 100 percent of the time," he said, "but when something goes wrong, why not be honest with us?"

The family has filed complaints with both the hospital and the Medical Council and is awaiting a potential coroner's inquest to determine the cause of death.

Cheung expressed a desire for the hospital to address its administrative and handling procedures, adding that the prolonged ordeal has been deeply troubling for his family.

(Marco Lam)