CUHK dean says he went to Japan for check-up
SingTao · 1 SOURCESabout 4 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
The third episode of TVB programme "Doctors, Are You Ill?" aired on October 7 and featured Professor Chiu Wai-yan (趙偉仁), dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, as its case-study guest. A gastroenterology specialist known for endoscopic surgery, he said he is also afraid of undergoing medical examinations and feels embarrassed because many relevant healthcare workers in Hong Kong know him personally. To avoid that discomfort, he revealed that he had chosen to travel to Japan for a medical check-up. The episode also touched on his family life in a medical household and his reflections on his father’s final illness and death
Key Points
- The TVB programme was hosted by Brian Fong Tung-shing, Wong Hiu-ying and Lee Ka-ka, and its third episode was broadcast on October 7
- Chiu Wai-yan said he dislikes being thoroughly examined by acquaintances in Hong Kong, describing that sense of exposure as uncomfortable even for doctors
- He said his wife, a paediatrician, is the family’s "second call" on child health, while he acts as the "first call" and follows her instructions
- Chiu said his wife can become overly worried after seeing many sick children, sometimes fearing developmental delay or suspecting pneumonia from minor illness
- He recalled deciding against intubation for his father, general practitioner Chiu Wing-yue, when severe pneumonia left him nearing the end of life
Why It Matters
The programme offers a rare public account of how senior doctors can still feel vulnerable as patients, especially in Hong Kong’s close-knit medical community. It also brings a personal dimension to family caregiving, parental anxiety and end-of-life decisions, topics many local viewers may recognise beyond the medical profession