Hong Kong authorities are examining whether civil servants neglected their duties following a 15-year delay by the Medical Council in processing a complaint against a pediatrician connected to a boy’s permanent disability.
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau stated on Sunday that unjustified delays occurred at multiple stages of the case involving newborn Li Yuanjian, whose mainland Chinese parents lodged the complaint in 2010.
The infant suffered a seizure at Hong Kong Baptist Hospital in Kowloon Tong in December 2009, subsequently developing cerebral palsy and quadriplegia that left him unable to care for himself.
When asked if the council’s secretariat—operating under the Department of Health—had been negligent, Lo confirmed the matter had been referred to the Civil Service Bureau.
“The Civil Service Bureau will handle it. Hong Kong’s civil service system has an established mechanism. Regarding cases that may involve civil servants with unsatisfactory performance, the mechanism will have a suitable arrangement,” he said.
Lo declined to disclose the number of staff involved or their ranks.
