Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ10: Security arrangements of public hospital wards
Following is a question by the Hon Yung Hoi-yan and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today
(February 8):
Question:
It has been reported that a male patient each in Kowloon Hospital (KH) and
United Christian Hospital (UCH) were allegedly sexually assaulted by other male
patients in the psychiatric wards therein. Those incidents have aroused public
concern about the security of public hospital wards and the safety of
inpatients. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that KH has set up an expert group to follow up on the issue, whether
the Government knows (i) the size and composition, work schedule and terms of
reference of the group, and (ii) if the report to be submitted by the group will
be made public; if the report will be made public, when it will be submitted;
(2) whether it knows if UCH will set up an expert group to follow up on the
issue; if UCH will not, of the reasons for that and how the hospital follows up
on the issue; if UCH will, (i) the size and composition, work schedule and terms
of reference of the group, and (ii) if the report to be submitted by the group
will be made public; if the report will be made public, when it will be
submitted;
(3) as the Secretary for Food and Health said that the Hospital Authority (HA)
would call urgent meetings to discuss the implementation of short and long term
measures, in terms of facilities, procedures, guidelines and manpower, in public
hospitals to enhance the protection for psychiatric patients who lack the
ability to care for themselves, whether the Government knows if HA has
formulated such measures; if HA has, of the details and the additional manpower
and expenditure involved;
(4) whether it knows the number of cases received by HA in each of the past
three years about alleged sexual assaults of patients; the details of each case,
including (i) the date and location of the incident, (ii) the age and mental
health condition of the victim, (iii) the type to which the alleged offender
belonged (a patient, a healthcare worker or others), (iv) the time taken to
complete the handling of the case, and (v) the follow-up measures taken by HA;
(5) given that sexual assault is one of the reportable incidents under the
Advanced Incident Reporting System implemented by HA since 2007, whether the
Government knows if HA has conducted a comprehensive review of the effectiveness
of the system; if HA has, of the date and results of the last review, and
whether follow-up and improvement measures have been formulated; if HA has not
conducted such a review, whether and when HA will conduct such a review; and
(6) whether it knows if HA will conduct a comprehensive review of (i) the
adequacy of the current operating procedures and security measures in public
hospital wards for safeguarding the safety of patients, and (ii) the adequacy of
the manpower for implementing such security measures; if HA will, of the details
and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the questions concerning the security arrangements of public
hospital wards raised by the Hon Yung Hoi-yan is as follows:
(1) and (2) The Kowloon Hospital (KH) and the United Christian Hospital (UCH)
are highly concerned about the recent alleged cases of patients being sexually
or indecently assaulted in their psychiatric wards. They have set up their
respective independent review panels consisting of relevant experts to identify
the causes of the incidents and make recommendations on viable and sustainable
improvement measures in order to prevent and address the problems concerning
psychiatric inpatients being sexually assaulted or indecently assaulting others.
The investigation reports will be completed in eight weeks for submission to the
Hospital Authority Head Office (HAHO) for consideration and appropriate
follow-up actions.
The members and composition of the expert groups set up by the KH and the UCH
are detailed in Annexes 1 and 2 respectively.
(3) As for the recent alleged cases of patients being sexually or indecently
assaulted in the psychiatric wards of the KH and UCH, the HAHO held two urgent
meetings in January this year to discuss and explore short and long term
follow-up measures. The short term measures which have been confirmed and taken
immediately include strengthening the identification of high-risk patients;
improving the protection of patients incapable of self-care through enhancing
staff communication and patient education and providing necessary support;
deploying manpower to step up regular patrols and conduct special patrols on a
need basis in psychiatric wards; evaluating the adequacy of existing monitoring
equipment in psychiatric wards and installing additional surveillance equipment
(including CCTV system and convex mirrors) as appropriate; reviewing the present
assessment criteria for admission of patients with clinical needs to single
rooms to ensure their safety and privacy; and reviewing the prevailing clinical
guidelines for mixed-gender wards and those for admission of child patients to
adult wards for ensuring the safety of patients.
On January 27, the HAHO instructed hospitals in all clusters to put in place the
short term measures with immediate effect.
In the long term, the HA's expert group will thoroughly examine the overall
operating procedure and manpower arrangement of psychiatric wards, and plan to
invite independent experts to participate in the comprehensive review as soon as
possible.
(4) The psychiatric departments of the HA reported five alleged cases of
inpatients being sexually or indecently assaulted to the Police from 2014 to
2016. Details of the cases are set out in Annex 3.
(5) Since 2007, the HA has launched the Advanced Incident Reporting System
(AIRS), under which sexual assault is categorised as one of the reportable
incidents. Apart from reporting to his/her immediate supervisor, the staff
member concerned is also required to report through the AIRS to the hospital
management and the HAHO so that they are made aware of the incident as soon as
possible and, where necessary, can take appropriate actions to safeguard
patients' interests. The HA has also established the Committee on Hospital
Security (the Committee) to review various aspects of the security issues of
hospitals, including potential security problems associated with sexual assault
cases. Members of the Committee include representatives from the Quality and
Safety Division, Business Support Services Department, Nursing Services
Department and Corporate Services Division of the HAHO, as well as the seven
hospital clusters. The Committee seeks to formulate standards, policies and
guidelines for security service, monitor the security work of hospitals, and
implement security-related improvement measures to ensure patients' safety and
dignity.
The HA has put in place a regular review mechanism to enhance the AIRS and
upgrade the data analysis capabilities to facilitate effective monitoring and
tracking of incidents to improve patients' safety.
(6) Apart from clinical monitoring and providing treatment, the operating
procedures of psychiatric wards also require regular monitoring of patients’
activities therein. A patient will be admitted to a single room if there is a
clinical need to ensure his/her safety and privacy.
In devising security management measures, HA hospitals are mindful that members
of the general public, particularly patients, should have reasonable access to
HA facilities which provide round-the-clock service. The HA must therefore
ensure that the security measures imposed will not create any undue obstacles to
the patients' right to access healthcare services or to the efficient delivery
of clinical services. To strike a balance between protecting the security of
patients and facilitating their access to healthcare services, the HA's security
management strategy comprises such key elements as establishing a robust
governance and organisational structure, installing suitable security
facilities, and maintaining sound security services and management. On security
management front, the HA has established a robust two-tiered governance
structure at cluster frontline and corporate levels.
The HA has installed risk-commensurate security facilities at appropriate
locations of the premises having regard to the criticality and vulnerability of
the locations concerned. Examples of the facilities installed are the Central
Security Control Room fitted with a CCTV system, the Access Control System that
controls access by means of access cards or combination locks and requires staff
to wear their staff ID cards for easy identification, the Carpark Management
System and Intercom, and the panic alarm and intruder alarm system.
Moreover, the HA has also maintained sound security services and management.
These include setting up a security unit in each hospital to provide
round-the-clock security services and deploy security guards to conduct regular
inspections on all parts of hospitals in accordance with the security guidelines
set by the hospitals, providing on-site support at the wards when needs arise,
assigning competent personnel to take up security duties, providing induction
training for all newly appointed security guards and on-the-job refresher
training on a regular and as-needed basis, implementing the security guidelines
and procedures laid down by the HAHO in various clusters, conducting risk
assessments and security audits on a regular basis, and launching the AIRS for
reporting of hospital incidents. All hospitals will also review the adequacy of
their security personnel on a regular basis to ensure that sufficient manpower
is available to carry out the necessary security measures.
Ends/Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Issued at HKT 20:28
NNNN
LCQ10 Annex 1
LCQ10 Annex 2
LCQ10 Annex 3