Doctors suffering from heavy workloads are urging the government to postpone new hospital projects and the expansion of medical services amid a severe staff shortage.
They are also demanding long-term manpower planning and standard work hours instead of just extra money for night shifts.
Hospital Authority chief executive Dr Leung Pak-yin met department heads last night to discuss the staffing crisis. Unions have threatened to take industrial action if the authority fails to find a solution by March 18. Leung spent a few hours on night shift early yesterday at Caritas Medical Centre.
Frontline staff have been criticising the authority for aggressive expansion of medical services at the expense of working conditions.
Projects in the pipeline include the 180-bed North Lantau Hospital in Tung Chung, to be completed by December next year; the 468-bed Centre of Excellence in Paediatrics to be opened in the Kai Tak development area by 2016; a public hospital in Tin Shui Wai, also by 2016; and a new centre of excellence in neurology.
The Food and Health Bureau will open four sites for new private hospitals later this year. There are also various expansion plans at individual hospitals to meet growing local demand. Doctors fear the projects will put further stress on medical staff.
The head of obstetrics and gynaecology at Sha Tin's Prince of Wales Hospital, Dr Cheung Tak-hong, said the authority should carefully assess staffing in the next few years before opening new hospitals or services.
