When the superintendent of Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital, Wu Kang-wen (吳康文), was relieved of duty yesterday, nobody was feeling particularly sorry for him.
Wu, rumored to have hidden the fact of the SARS outbreak within the hospital, was widely considered responsible for the chaos at the facility.
Two nurses from Hoping have already died due to SARS and another's life is in danger.
Wu said in an interview yesterday, "I owe apologies to the medical staff who have contracted SARS."
"I did not know there were SARS cases in the hospital in mid-April. It was probably because our doctors did not find out about them," he said.
"I accept with calm the authorities' decision to relieve me of duty. I will also reflect on the public's criticism of my performance during the past few weeks.
"Although I am not a superintendent anymore, I am still a doctor and I will still share my experience with others to help in the battle against SARS," Wu said.
Staff at the hospital complained to the local media about Wu's conduct as the quarantine neared its end.
According to Chinese-language media reports, hospital staff said Hoping had been taking in SARS patients since mid-April and the administration knew about it. Staff were asked not to reveal the information to the media, according to the reports.
A report in Next magazine said hospital administrators deceived their own staff by saying there were no SARS patients in the hospital, meaning those caring for SARS patients did not take the necessary measures to protect themselves.
Tang Ssu-hu (唐四虎), the husband of deceased Hoping head nurse Chen Ching-chiu (陳靜秋), said, "if Hoping is going to turn into a SARS center, most medical staff will refuse to work under Wu again.
"When Wu scolds his staff, he can be way out [of line]," Tang said.
Tang also hinted at Wu practicing favoritism within the hospital.
Professor Yeh Chin-chuan (
Yeh is writing a report on the crisis at the hospital.
"Wu will need to be investigated. There must have been faults in his management," Yeh said.
According to the report in Next, Wu had run away from the hospital claiming he had a fever.
"He was in contact with the physical therapist who had contracted SARS, so fever or not, he had to be quarantined for 10 days," Yeh said.
The contact, however, was possibly the result of Wu's actions. According to media reports, after the hospital was shut down, Wu decided to transfer the therapist from Complex B to his office in Complex A to help, despite a strict policy of no exchange of personnel between the two complexes.
Wu denied the allegation, saying he had done this prior to the start of the no-exchange policy.
Wu, 63, is a graduate of China Medical College and obtained his medical degree in Japan.
In 1987, Wu got his first superintendent post at Taipei Municipal Chung Hsiao Hospital (
Wu was the superintendent of Taipei Municipal Jen Ai Hospital (
When Ma Ying-jeou (
Also see story:
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY: The apron can accommodate 16 airplanes overnight at Taoyuan airport while work on the third runway continues, the transport minister said A new temporary overnight parking apron at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to start operating on Friday next week to boost operational efficiency while the third runway is being constructed, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The apron — one of the crucial projects in the construction of the third runway — can accommodate 16 aircraft overnight at the nation’s largest international airport, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters while inspecting the new facility yesterday morning. Aside from providing the airport operator with greater flexibility in aircraft parking during the third runway construction,
American climber Alex Honnold is to attempt a free climb of Taipei 101 today at 9am, with traffic closures around the skyscraper. To accommodate the climb attempt and filming, the Taipei Department of Transportation said traffic controls would be enforced around the Taipei 101 area. If weather conditions delay the climb, the restrictions would be pushed back to tomorrow. Traffic controls would be in place today from 7am to 11am around the Taipei 101 area, the department said. Songzhi Road would be fully closed in both directions between Songlian Road and Xinyi Road Sec 5, it said, adding that bidirectional traffic controls would
RSS