appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageTypeformConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Emily Hung

A Hong Kong paediatrician has been removed from the General Register for nine months after the medical watchdog found him guilty of professional misconduct over a case that left a boy permanently disabled more than 16 years ago.
A Medical Council inquiry panel on Sunday convicted Dr Sit Sou-chi of failing to carry out all necessary and immediate investigations on newborn Li Yuanjian, the son of a mainland Chinese couple, after the infant suffered a seizure on December 22, 2009, at Hong Kong Baptist Hospital in Kowloon Tong.
The child was left with cerebral palsy and quadriplegia and is unable to care for himself.
The victim’s father, Li Zhijian, said the punishment was appropriate but justice had been delayed.
“This is not the end of our journey. Even though the doctor has been found guilty of professional misconduct, removing his licence for nine months cannot buy back our son’s health for the rest of his life,” he said.
Li added that he would pursue civil claims against the doctor and the hospital.
Inquiry panel chairwoman Professor Grace Tang Wai-king said the crux of the case lay in what nurse Ho Kit-ha reported to the defendant at 4.20am and how he responded, about an hour after the boy had suffered a seizure and had been attended to.

Conflicting evidence arose in the statements of Ho and Sit, particularly regarding whether the nurse had told Sit that a convulsion had been observed, Tang said.
According to Ho, who made a statement one month after the incident to supplement the nursing kardex – a quick-reference summary of essential patient information – she told Sit over the phone that the baby had experienced choking, sweating and limb contractions, and had been placed in an incubator. While those symptoms had settled by the time of the call, she warned that a convulsion was suspected.
However, in a statement made 4½ years after the incident, Sit claimed the nurse had described only a minor, resolved “milk choking” event, with slight stiffening and staring of the eyes observed but the baby had returned to normal.
He insisted that he had been left in the dark, claiming he did not know the baby was already on continuous oxygen in an incubator.
As a result, he did not return to the hospital immediately to examine the baby, even though it was just a 15-minute drive from his home.
The panel found Ho’s statement more reliable. Tang said it was completely illogical for an experienced nurse to call a doctor after midnight merely to report a minor milk-choking episode.
The fact that Ho opened the convulsion chart herself to monitor the baby at around 3.30am also suggested that she must have suspected convulsions and was concerned about the baby’s condition.
There was no logical reason for her to withhold information on the baby’s clinical symptoms and the use of an incubator from the doctor during the phone call, Tang said.
Tang added that Ho’s statement remained consistent under cross-examination.
In contrast, Sit was recorded on tape explicitly telling the parents that the nurse had called him to report a “suspected convulsion” and that the baby was “in the incubator” during a meeting eight days after the incident.
“We do not find the defendant credible,” Tang said in the verdict.
“We are satisfied on the evidence before us that the defendant has by misconduct in the present case fallen below the standards expected among registered medical practitioners in Hong Kong and we find him guilty of professional misconduct as charged.”

Handing down the sentence, Tang said neonatal seizure was a serious and life-threatening condition that could have lifelong implications.
She said the defendant’s failure to diagnose and manage the case promptly was “inexcusable”.
Tang noted that throughout the hearing, the doctor maintained that the nurse had not informed him that a seizure was suspected and that he was entitled to rely on the professional judgment of nursing staff.
“This reflected badly on his honesty and integrity. We have grave concerns about the defendant’s insights into his wrongdoing … this indicated the lack of remorse on his part,” she said.
Taking into account the gravity and nature of the case, the Medical Council ordered that Sit’s name be removed from the General Register for nine months.
In mitigation, defence counsel Anthony Ismail said Sit’s misconduct was at “the lowest end of the scale of seriousness”. He argued that there was no evidence the outcome for the patient would have been better but for his misconduct.
While a delay of 3½ hours in handling the emergency was “suboptimal”, it was not certain whether it would have affected the patient’s prognosis.
Ismail added that Sit was unlikely to reoffend and that the public was protected because he had taken corrective measures by physically attending to every patient whenever any suspicion arose, citing the defendant’s otherwise clean record.
“He has learned his lesson, and this will not happen again,” he said.
Ismail said Sit had suffered prejudice due to the prolonged delay, which caused “intense psychological stress and emotional disturbance”.
He also accused the media of “villainising” and “publicly humiliating” Sit, resulting in additional punishment as he practised under the cloud of a “tarnished name”.
Tim Pang Hung-cheong, a patients’ rights advocate from the Society for Community Organisation, said that to truly restore public confidence in the Medical Council and address perceptions of self-protectionism, there should be an equal number of doctors and lay members on the watchdog.
The Health Bureau said it fully supported the inquiry panel’s restarting and completion of the inquiry within eight months, and respected the judgment. It said relevant departments would continue to follow up on the boy’s medical and welfare needs.
The complaint was filed in 2010, and an inquiry was initially scheduled for 2016, but it was postponed multiple times until the council terminated it last year, ruling that the prolonged administrative delay made the hearing unfair to the doctor.
The decision sparked a public outcry, prompting the council to reverse its decision and the government to propose legal amendments to improve the efficiency of complaint handling. The first reading of the bill will begin on Wednesday.


Health Matters

Clearer standards would strengthen urgent care in private hospitals

CUHK launches first cross-border clinical trial centre in Nansha

Baby Rufus in urgent need of heart donation, Hong Kong health authorities say

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Doctor given 9‑month ban for misconduct in case that left boy disabled for life

Doctor Sit Sou-chi leaves after the medical hearing after being removed from the General Register for nine months over his handling of a newborn’s seizure that left a boy disabled for life. Photo: Edmond So

Li Yuanjian was left with cerebral palsy and quadriplegia and is unable to care for himself. Photo: Handout

Parents Peng Hongying and Li Zhijian arrive at the Medical Council hearing into Doctor Sit Sou‑chi’s misconduct case.  Photo: Edmond So

Misdiagnosis isn’t misconduct, lawyer for accused doctor tells medical watchdog

Dr Sit Sou-chi attends the Medical Council hearing on Sunday. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Li Yuanjian in October last year. Photo: Handout

Parents Li Zhijian and Peng Hongying attend the hearing on Sunday. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Doctor boyfriend of sacked Hong Kong medical intern also fired for misconduct

The case has been linked to the firing and arrest of a 24-year-old intern doctor originally working at Caritas Medical Centre. Photo: Dickson Lee

News

Hong Kong

Society

Health & Environment

Paediatrician Sit Sou-chi removed from General Register over a mishandled 2009 seizure case that left newborn with cerebral palsy and quadriplegia


Paediatrician Sit Sou-chi removed from General Register over a mishandled 2009 seizure case that left newborn with cerebral palsy and quadriplegia.


China

Doctor given 9‑month ban for misconduct in case that left boy disabled for life

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Paediatrician Sit Sou-chi removed from General Register over a mishandled 2009 seizure case that left newborn with cerebral palsy and quadriplegia

Paediatrician Sit Sou-chi removed from General Register over a mishandled 2009 seizure case that left newborn with cerebral palsy and quadriplegia