Hospital contractor barred from tendering over fallen surgical light

Maintenance contractor Getinge Group Hong Kong, the supplier of the fallen surgical light in United Christian Hospital in February, has been barred from taking part in future tendering and quotation until September next year.

Getinge Group also has to compensate and apologize to the Hospital Authority.

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

In a statement issued yesterday, the HA said 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 next year, it said.

"The HA will consider lifting the suspension from tendering only after the contractor's service performance and quality are reviewed and has proved capable to meet the requirements," the authority said.

It added that Getinge Group must make an open apology to the HA and settle compensation for all losses and expenses incurred from the incident.

The HA will also introduce a new marking scheme for contractors, and consider bidders' poor performance in the past during tendering assessments.

"The HA is highly concerned about the incident. Considering the severity of the surgical light falling incident and the performance of the contractor concerned, the HA decided to take a series of disciplinary actions to vigorously pursue the liabilities of the contractor concerned," an HA spokesman said.

"These disciplinary actions are taken based on reasonable, rigorous, and prudent considerations.

"This also serves as an unequivocal message that the HA has zero tolerance for any substandard service quality level and that the action of suspension from tendering will be confined to future tender exercises."

The HA also said it acted immediately after the accident by requesting contractors to conduct a comprehensive inspection and replace mounting screws for all surgical lights of the same model in public hospitals and improving the maintenance of all ceiling-mount medical equipment.

It has also shortened the interval of safety checks for medical equipment and required contractors to strictly follow safety check and maintenance procedures.

Lawmaker Edward Leung Hei from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong yesterday welcomed the HA's decision, saying a higher service requirement for contractors will help reduce accidents.

But Leung slammed the HA for acting slowly, as it made the decision 10 months after the accident and still awarded three contracts to Getinge Group after the incident happened in February.

The HA should bar contractors from tendering immediately after accidents, he said, adding the authority should let a third party examine medical equipment to ensure patients' trust.