Tung Wah Hospital has formed a group to investigate a medical mishap in which two patients' specimens were swapped, leading to the wrong man being diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer.

The hospital today said a 69-year-old patient underwent prostate biopsy examinations in January and October last year. The first examination said the patient did not have prostate cancer while the second examination detected prostate cancer cells in his specimen.

The hospital therefore re-examined the results of all the examinations conducted on January 26 last year and found the patient's specimen had been swapped with that of a 72-year-old patient.

The hospital immediately met the 69-year-old patient and his family to explain the incident. He is now in Queen Mary Hospital in stable condition and the cancerous cells do not appear to have spread. Proper treatment will be arranged for him.

Meanwhile, the 72-year-old patient wrongly diagnosed with prostate cancer has finished receiving radiotherapy treatment in Queen Mary Hospital. He is stable and is showing no side effects. The hospital has explained the situation to the patient and his family.

Expressing grave concern, Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow sends his sincere regards to the two affected patients and their families. He has instructed the Hospital Authority to critically review the incident and set up an investigation panel to dig to the incident root and suggest remedial measures to avoid future recurrence.

The incident has been reported to the authority and an investigation team will submit a report to the hospital and the authority in six weeks' time.