LEAD: H.K. health chief apologizes for failing to tackle SARS

Asian Economic News, Oct 6, 2003

HONG KONG, Oct. 2 Kyodo

(EDS: RECASTS, UPDATES WITH HEALTH CHIEF'S REMARKS)

Hong Kong's top health official apologized to the public Thursday after an international expert committee found ''significant shortcomings'' in the city's health system in tackling the SARS epidemic initially, though blamed no individual official.

''I offer my deepest and most sincere apology...for the inability of the healthcare system to comprehensively halt the spread of the disease in the early stages and for any misunderstandings I might have caused in communicating with the public,'' Health, Welfare and Food Secretary Yeoh Eng-kiong told a press conference.

''The deficiencies exposed in our health system ultimately fall on my shoulders and I accept that responsibility fully,'' said an emotional Yeoh.

But the minister did not resign despite calls by many locals for him to step down for failing to contain the highly contagious disease quickly and for denying an outbreak in the community when SARS emerged in a public hospital in March.

Hong Kong, with 1,755 people infected and 300 deaths, was one of the areas hit hardest by the deadly flu-like virus, apart from mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore and Canada.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) first emerged in southern China's Guangdong Province and then spread rapidly worldwide. There were more than 8,000 infections, including over 900 deaths.

Earlier Thursday, the 11-member expert committee appointed by the Hong Kong government to probe into the city's management and control of SARS identified failures in the local health system in battling the disease.

Those faults included surveillance, the chain of command and control, communications, as well as inadequate surge capacity in hospitals and the public health system.

''There is no doubt in our view that there were system failures in the response to the epidemic, particularly in the early phase,'' said Cyril Chantler and Sian Griffiths, co-chairpersons of the expert committee.

''Lessons must be learnt,'' they said in a letter when presenting the committee's 279-page report to Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.

The experts recommended that the former British colony set up a center for health protection in charge of the prevention and control of communicable diseases.

The territory must also work closely with mainland China, particularly in areas in the neighboring Pearl River Delta region, and the international community in information exchange and contingency planning, the experts said.

The experts said epidemics respect neither geographical nor national boundaries and the world must get ready before the next SARS outbreak or a new communicable disease erupts.

''The committee notes that accurate information about the atypical pneumonia outbreak in Guangdong Province was not available to Hong Kong or the international community at the time, otherwise the epidemic in Hong Kong might have been ameliorated,'' the report says.

The expert committee considered that, overall, the crisis in the city had been managed well, although shortcomings of system performance were exposed during the initial response to the epidemic.

''Many shortcomings were rapidly put right, while others were compensated for by the extraordinary hard work of people at all levels of the system and in very difficult circumstances,'' the report says.

''The committee has not found any individual deemed to be culpable of negligence, lack of diligence or maladministration,'' it adds.

The experts said there is no evidence of intentional information suppression of the epidemic by the Hong Kong government.

Local critics, however, questioned whether the local health minister and other senior officials are still capable to lead Hong Kong through another crisis if SARS strikes again.

But Yeoh vowed to do his best to improve the healthcare system so as to better protect public health and be fully prepared to tackle SARS and other infectious diseases.

''The SARS experience has been a very humbling one and I am determined to assimilate the lessons learnt,'' Yeoh said.

Welcoming the findings and recommendations by the committee, Hong Kong leader Tung said the government will implement changes and measures as suggested by the experts to better prepare Hong Kong for any future outbreaks.