Hospital Authority fires intern doctor over misconduct act

The Hospital Authority says it has dismissed an intern doctor following an investigation into a series of misconduct allegations.

Sources say police have arrested the female intern on suspicion of accessing a computer with criminal or dishonest intent.

In a statement, the Hospital Authority says authorities conducted interviews with the intern doctor and relevant healthcare staff during the investigation. The conclusion is that the medical trainee has breached the professional conduct and integrity expected of doctors, infringed patient privacy and professional confidentiality, and failed to follow instructions in performing medical procedures.

HA strongly condemns such conduct and stresses that it has zero tolerance of behaviour that undermines patients' safety.

The 24-year-old trainee used medical equipment without authorisation to X-ray her knee and posted it on social media during her internship at Caritas Medical Centre. She was also alleged to have used another person's account and accessed patient records at Tuen Mun Hospital without permission. It is understood that the police arrested the trainee on Friday after HA reported the case to the force.

Meanwhile, the University of Hong Kong's medical school says it respects the dismissal decision and has conducted an internal evaluation to access the intern doctor's fitness-to-practice. The medical school will submit a report to the Medical Council if the evaluation result proves "unfit."