Hospital Authority dismisses resident doctor over unauthorised exam linked to sacked intern girlfriend

Hong Kong's Hospital Authority (HA) has dismissed an unnamed resident doctor from Tuen Mun Hospital for performing an unauthorized examination on a patient at Ruttonjee Hospital. The HA stated the doctor's actions breached professional ethics and integrity.

“

The incident is linked to an intern doctor who was previously dismissed for a series of serious [instances of] misconduct.

The incident is connected to his trainee doctor girlfriend, who was earlier dismissed for serious misconduct, including accessing patient records without authorization. The authority said the resident doctor conducted the examination at the request of his girlfriend, who was interning at Ruttonjee Hospital.

Both doctors were suspended earlier this month after allegations of their professional misconduct went viral on social media. The intern doctor had posted a photo of herself using medical equipment to X-ray her own knee, prompting the HA's investigation. The authority previously issued a "serious warning" to the intern over the incident.

“

The investigation committee concluded that the resident doctor acted dishonestly and committed serious misconduct, in breach of doctors’ professional ethics and integrity.

The HA "unequivocally condemned" the misconduct, emphasizing its "zero tolerance" policy for any behavior that undermines doctors' professional conduct. The authority will refer the case to the Medical Council and stated it will not permit doctors who fail to meet requirements to practice in public hospitals to safeguard patient safety.

“

The HA has absolutely zero tolerance for any form of behaviour that undermines the professional conduct of doctors. The HA will not permit any doctor who fails to meet the relevant requirements to practise in public hospitals, in order to safeguard patient safety.