She claimed her treatment and recovery were delayed because the hospital insisted on carrying out a slow coronavirus test, kept her isolated after surgery and only moved her to a normal ward when her quarantine period had ended.

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The hospital insists it followed all procedures properly in treating her. Under the current protocol, patients with a quarantine order had to submit to a deep-throat saliva test if they had symptoms compatible with Covid-19, it said.

Alex told the Post she returned to Hong Kong on September 7 and checked into a quarantine hotel following a holiday in France with her boyfriend.

When she began experiencing constipation, abdominal pain and fever, she called a designated hotline five times on September 11 to no avail.

Her hotel helped her go to Queen Mary Hospital’s emergency department, where the doctor who examined her told her she was just constipated and sent her off with laxatives.

At the hotel, her fever persisted. When it spiked above 39.5 degrees Celsius on September 13, she called Dr Nichola Salmond, a private doctor, who suspected appendicitis and advised her to return to the hospital as soon as possible.

Alex said that when she got to the hospital at about 12.45pm on September 13, she was first sent for a coronavirus test and had to wait nearly three hours for the result.

She was then admitted to an isolation ward where a blood test was done. It revealed a high level of infection, but she had to wait for a CAT scan the next day. That showed she had severe appendicitis and an abscess, but she still had to wait another day for surgery on September 15.

Although she tested negative for Covid-19 at least six times between landing in Hong Kong and before surgery, she was kept in isolation after the operation.

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She had to spend two weeks in a small room, alone and largely ignored by the staff, she said.

She had a large wound and was in pain, and the staff told her to stop buzzing for help, she added, saying it could take up to 90 minutes to get someone to change her diaper.

A doctor told her that moving would promote healing, but there was nobody to help her get out of bed. She said she began to feel depressed.

She was only sent to a normal surgical ward on September 28, when her quarantine order expired. That was 13 days after her surgery.

“I felt better because there were a lot of nurses and doctors around and I had space to move,” she said.

She said the doctors and nurses kept telling her that she had undergone “a big surgery” and had been in serious condition. They also said the decision to keep her in the isolation ward was beyond their control.

Alex did not leave hospital until October 4 and is on medical leave until early next month.

Still upset that her appendicitis was not diagnosed initially and that she was isolated for so long after her surgery, she said patients who tested negative for Covid-19 should be sent to a normal ward where they would be cared for properly.

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Queen Mary Hospital said the Covid-19 test was offered “simultaneously without affecting the treatment”, and a physical examination and X-ray of Alex’s abdomen showed no significant abnormalities on her first visit to the hospital.

The spokesperson said hospital staff “provide appropriate treatment in accordance with the patient’s clinical condition”.

A patient with a quarantine order would have to stay in the isolation ward “as far as possible”, with the hospital keeping to prevailing practice and infection control guidelines.

The Department of Health said those under quarantine could call a 24-hour dedicated hotline for any medical issues, and could be sent to hospital if necessary. They could also call the 999 police emergency hotline for urgent medical attention.

Experts said the case suggested that hospitals ought to strike a balance between meeting Covid-19 preventive measures and avoiding unnecessary delays in treating patients.

Respiratory medicine expert Dr Leung Chi-chiu said the case illustrated the potential problems people under quarantine could face, not only in Hong Kong, but in other parts of the world too.

To avoid unnecessary delays in treating patients, he said, hospitals could use rapid antigen Covid-19 tests, which give a result in 15 minutes.

Dr Salmond, who helped Alex, said the more invasive laparotomy – a kind of surgery in which a large incision is made to the abdomen – might have been avoided if Alex’s appendicitis was diagnosed on her first visit to hospital, which a blood test would have helped.

Questioning the long waiting time between Alex’s admission and her operation, she said: “Two days in isolation with severe pain which is not being taken seriously, with no one to comfort you and the fear of the unknown outcome was very hard psychologically for Alex.”

But a family doctor, Lam Wing-wo, said it was difficult to judge whether surgery could have been avoided and defended the coronavirus precautionary measures.

“It’s hard to tell ... The doctor did assess her for a short while,” he said. “The incident doesn’t seem too unreasonable, because we need time to assess. In this situation, we have a procedure, a protocol [to follow in the hospital during the pandemic].”

*Name changed at interviewee’s request