Tuen Mun Hospital announces incident of suspected improper handling of chemicals
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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesman for the Hospital Authority (HA) today (October 26) announced an incident of suspected improper handling of chemicals:
Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH) received a staff complaint from the Butterfly Beach Laundry (BBL) earlier, claiming that the stock of the stain remover was inconsistent with records. It was suspected that some staff members had handled the stain remover concerned and other chemicals improperly.
The TMH is very concerned about the incident and an investigation was carried out immediately. The scope of investigation includes the cause of the inconsistent chemicals records, whether any staff member handled the chemicals improperly and whether the handling process complied with statutory requirements.
The HA Head Office has been notified and will investigate the incident together with the TMH. The HA Head Office will arrange on-site inspections to the BBL so as to ascertain the compliance of relevant regulations on chemicals storage and handling.
Two staff members concerned are now on leave. The services of the BBL are not affected.
The TMH has also reported the incident to law enforcement and government departments concerned and will co-operate on the investigations.
The HA has stringent guidelines to regulate the storage, handling and disposal of chemicals. Responsible staff members are also required to receive relevant training. Stocktaking is carried out regularly to ascertain the compliance of relevant regulations. In the event of any improper staff behaviour found in the investigation, the HA will stringently follow up in accordance with established protocol.