Father questions hospital treatment after boy, 8, dies of encephalitis
Sha Tin councillor to meet hospital bosses over death of boy, 8, from encephalitis
The father of an eight-year-old boy who died from encephalitis on Sunday has questioned whether an oversight by doctors at the Prince of Wales Hospital led to his son's death.
Lau Wai-lun, a Sha Tin district councillor, said his only son, Ted Lau, had shown symptoms of encephalitis on June 15, when he was admitted to the hospital, and on the following day, but that doctors did not take action until he had a seizure.
"My son vomited on the day he was admitted to the hospital. The following morning, at about 9am, the paediatrician was unable to wake him up," Lau said. "But the doctor just told me he was sleepy and that they would keep him under observation."
Lau said his son had a seizure at 2pm on June 16 and was transferred to the hospital's intensive care unit that night.
"That's a five-hour delay. In hindsight, could my son have been saved if they [had taken] action earlier?" Lau asked.
He added that vomiting and lethargy are symptoms of encephalitis, an acute inflammatory disease of the brain.
The hospital has confirmed that the boy had tested positive for encephalitis, but that it took a long time to reach that diagnosis. He was in hospital for 15 days.
