A healer who lives every new day like his first

Dr Tsang Ka-kit
Nurse Consultant (Orthopaedics & Traumatology), Queen Elizabeth Hospital

“Work every day as if you are a newcomer.” That is the advice of Dr Tsang Ka-kit, who has the same passion as he had on his first day 30 years ago. Since he joined the Orthopaedics Department at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in 1994, he has dedicated himself to his hands-on wound care day after day. The wound management is not constrained by previous practices. In 2015, he developed a progressive wound dressing method to deal with increasingly intricate wound management demands. He recalls a patient has developed compartment syndrome. After the surgery, the wound extended across his calf. This method allowed him to tighten the wound until it healed, of which skin grafting was not required.

The greatest sense of satisfaction for Tsang comes from helping patients over long periods of time, witnessing them go through various stages of life. He recalls a woman with an immune system disorder who had repeated joint replacement surgeries before finally passing away due to complications. During that time, the patient’s children grew from adolescents to marriage. They made a point of visiting Tsang after her death to thank him for the care he showed to their mother through the years, he says with tears.

Tsang’s experience in helping patients has inspired him to launch other patient services as well. Since the first nurse clinic established in 2002 with his participation, he has been assisting the implementation of various nursing services. In 2021, for instance, he helped develop the Musculoskeletal Cancer Case Manager Programme to provide holistic follow-up and care to the cancer patients and their family members. “Cancer patients wish to have mental support with other people in the same situation. About 110 new cases of bone and soft tissue cancer in QEH each year. In addition to treatment, we also provide spiritual care,” Tsang explains. The programme monitors patients’ physical condition before and after surgery, and offers emotional support to caregivers. Moreover, Orthopaedic Day Rehabilitation Nursing Service has been developed for follow-ups with fragility fracture patients, ensuring their post-discharge care.

Tsang sees the award as the result of compassion and accomplishment in helping the many patients and their families in the past 30 years – but he prefers not to dwell on the past. “Today, tomorrow and the next day … every day is a new beginning,” he says. He would rather look ahead and continue to embrace the future with humility and curiosity.