【明報專訊】Since the middle of last month, there have been reports of falling concrete or equipment at public hospitals — one after another, it would be fair to say. First, there was an incident at United Christian Hospital where a surgical lamp fell and caused an injury. Then there was the incident at Tuen Mun Hospital, where the external cover of the gate motor box came off one of the ceiling hoist tracks at a medicine and geriatric ward, though fortunately no one was injured. Furthermore, the media has revealed that in November last year, a piece of spalling concrete in a Castle Peak Hospital ward dropped onto a medical bed, but luckily not hit patients. Yesterday (8 March), in a consultation room at a child and adolescent psychiatric ward of Kwai Chung Hospital, some suspended ceiling tiles and concrete slabs fell off. The largest fragment measured 30 cm by 30 cm. Had the incident not happened in the early hours but during consultation hours, someone could have been injured.
Concerning the surgical lamp plunge at United Christian Hospital, the Hospital Authority (HA) announced it only a day later. As if it were squeezing toothpaste, the HA released piecemeal details in several rounds, before being flooded with criticism over the way it disseminated information and made notifications. The HA's response was somehow better regarding the concrete fall at Kwai Chung Hospital. HA Chief Executive Tony Ko apologised for the trouble the recent string of falling object incidents had caused its patients and staff, stressing that the HA has "all along employed open and transparent policies in handling accidents".
The accidental fall of the surgical lamp at United Christian Hospital was caused by screws with stripped thread loosening. HA investigation afterwards has found as many as 23 surgical lamps with potential safety risks. The contractor should indeed be held accountable for its inadequate maintenance and inspection. However, the HA has also admitted that it did not review the maintenance of the surgical lights, which has inevitably led to the impression that the HA had been complacent and did not seriously follow up or review the service standards of the contractor. Remediating after an accident was already too late. In the recent series of falling object incidents, the HA has said nearly every time that it was "very dissatisfied" with the performance of the contractors or consultancies involved. However, the public wants to know better why the HA has placed its trust in the wrong people so many times and whether the HA has earnestly supervised the performance of service providers before.
One naturally connects spalling concrete to the ageing of buildings. Public hospitals and clinics under the HA occupy around 300 buildings in total. More than half of them were completed over three decades ago; some are even 50 to 60 years old. In 2013, the government appropriated $13 billion to the HA in one go so it can plan flexibly minor construction projects in the 10 years to come to improve and maintain public hospital facilities. The repeated incidents of concrete tumbling in public hospitals invite questions over whether the HA has found an antidote in its restoration projects.
Now that the pandemic is over, the HA should put more effort into improving the maintenance standards of medical equipment in public hospitals and speeding up the tackling of ageing buildings and hardware. When it comes to areas with hidden safety hazards in public hospitals, their frontline staff know best. The authorities should simplify the complicated procedures for reporting hidden dangers and risks and encourage a "reporting culture". As for problems such as ageing buildings, the HA can rank repair items in order of priority according to the risks and arrange for professionals to conduct detailed inspections, instead of just sending people to briefly patrol and have a quick look. Furthermore, government departments such as the Buildings Department should also assist rather than sit on the sidelines. Tony Ko emphasised yesterday that the HA bears the ultimate responsibility for the safety of hospital facilities. Hopefully, the HA will put its words into action and walk the walk.
明報社評 2023.03.09：公院墜物嚇煞人 改善管理促安全
自上月中以來，關於公立醫院有石屎或裝置墜下的消息，可謂一宗接一宗，先是聯合醫院發生手術燈塌下傷人事故，其後屯門醫院內科及老人科病房一段扶抱吊機路軌，又有電機箱外殼掉落，可幸無人受傷。另外，媒體揭露去年11月青山醫院病房有石屎剝落跌在病牀上，幸好未有擊中病人；及至昨天，葵涌醫院兒童及青少年精神科病房一間診症室，又有假天花及石屎掉落，碎片最大有30厘米乘30厘米，倘若發生時間不是凌晨而是診症時間，隨時有人受傷。
聯合醫院塌手術燈，醫管局事隔一天才公布，細節交代如擠牙膏，資訊發放和通報處理，惹來不少批評。這次葵涌醫院石屎剝落，局方反應算是有所改善。行政總裁高拔陞就近期連串墜物事故對病人及職員造成的困擾致歉，強調局方「一向以公開透明政策處理事故」。
聯合醫院塌手術燈事故，事關螺絲「滑牙」鬆脫，局方事後調查發現，有潛在安全風險的手術燈多達23支。承辦商維修檢查不周，當然要追究責任，然而醫管局承認沒有覆檢手術燈維修，難免令人覺得局方之前太過大安旨意，沒有切實跟進或檢視承辦商服務水平，等到出事才補救，已然遲了。近期連串墜物事故，醫管局幾乎每次都表示，對涉事承辦商或顧問公司的表現「非常不滿」，然而公眾更加想知道，為何「所託非人」情况接二連三，醫管局之前究竟有沒有認真監管服務供應商表現。
石屎剝落自然令人聯想到建築物老化。醫管局管轄的公院及診所，合共約有300座建築物，當中超過一半落成逾30年，部分甚至有50、60年樓齡。2013年，政府一次過撥款130億元，讓醫管局可靈活規劃未來10年的小型工程計劃，改善及維修公院設施。近期公院一再發生石屎剝落事故，卻令人關注局方的修復計劃，有沒有好好對症下藥。
現在疫情已過，醫管局應該投入更多精力，提升公院醫療儀器保養水平，加緊處理建築物及硬件老化問題。公院前線職員最了解院內哪些地方存在安全隱患，當局應精簡呈報隱患風險的繁複程序，鼓勵「上報文化」，至於建築物老化等問題，局方可按風險高低，釐定維修優次，安排專業人士詳細檢查，而不是僅僅派人巡一巡、看一看，另外屋宇署等部門亦應該提供協助，不能作壁上觀。高拔陞昨天強調，醫管局對院內設施安全有最終責任，期望局方付諸實踐，說到做到。
/ Glossary生字 /
spall：to split or cause to split into such fragments
earnestly：in a very serious and sincere way
walk the walk：to act in a way that shows people you are really good at what you do, and not just good at talking about it