Concrete falls from public hospital ward ceiling in latest maintenance incident; no injuries
Hong Kong Free Press
Two concrete slabs fell from the ceiling of a Hong Kong public hospital’s geriatric ward on Monday night, with no injuries reported. It marks the latest in a series of safety incidents at the city’s public hospitals.
The two pieces of concrete, measuring approximately 20 centimetres in length, 30 centimetres in width, and three centimetres in thickness, fell along with the false ceiling in an integrated medical and geriatric male ward at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital at around 8.15 pm.
Inspections and repairs
“Maintenance staff immediately arranged emergency repairs. No patients or staff were injured in the incident and patient service was not affected,” a spokesperson for the Chai Wan hospital said on Monday night.
As a precautionary measure, hospital management immediately arranged to transfer patients in the affected cubicle to another cubicle, read the statement, which was issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority.
“The hospital is very concerned about the incident and has arranged safety inspections to the facilities in the ward again immediately,” the spokesperson said, adding that the hospital was investigating the cause of the concrete falling.
The last time an inspection was conducted in the affected area was last April, the statement read.
The hospital will report the incident to the head office of the Hospital Authority via its Advanced Incident Reporting System.
String of incidents
Maintenance issues have plagued the hospital system for some months. The Hospital Authority apologised after slabs of concrete fell from the ceiling of a consultation room in Kwai Chung Hospital in March.
Also in March, authorities said a ceiling hoist used to lift patients in a rehabilitation ward at Tuen Mun Hospital had fallen. There were no injuries, they added.
In mid-February, a surgical light attached to the ceiling came loose in an operating theatre at United Christian Hospital, injuring a staff member. Investigations showed that screws in the “main post of the concerned surgical light” were “all broken,” the Hospital Authority said.
The Hospital Authority said, in March, that it would form a committee to review the maintenance of medical equipment and facilities at public hospitals and provide relevant advice.
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