27°C | Light rain
Feb 23, 2011
Angry frontline doctors are threatening to take industrial action over the Hospital Authority's failure to tackle heavy workloads and poor morale resulting from high staff turnover, the union president said yesterday.
Dr Loletta So Kit-ying, president of the Public Doctors' Association, said the union was considering a "sit-in or work-to-rule protest".
However, in response to the threat by the biggest union of public doctors, the authority yesterday announced eight emergency measures to cope with the crisis.
"We don't need any sweet-talking [from health officials], we need some concrete measures," So said before the new measures were announced.
Some of the frustrated doctors proposed abandoning clerical duties such as writing medical reports, adhering to a reasonable consultation time for patients, such as 30 to 45 minutes for each new case, and taking at least a 45-minute lunch break.
In reaction to the threat, the authority said last night it would create senior posts for junior doctors, hire part-time retired doctors to work at outpatient clinics, and redeploy staff from other specialities to help the overloaded internal medicine departments, which would also be allocated more trainee positions. It would also hire more health care assistants to take blood samples from patients, employ more clerical staff and provide special allowances to doctors on night shifts. The authority also said it would deploy at least 12 doctors to Tuen Mun Hospital by July to relieve the shortage.
Dr Cheung Wai-lun, the authority's acting chief executive, said last night the new measures could be implemented immediately. He said details on the senior posts would be announced next month, but he did elaborate on the cost.
"We understand that frontline staff are experiencing heavy workloads, especially during the winter surge - we are grateful for their dedication and hard work," Cheung said. "These new measures may not be able to solve all the problems but with the collaboration of staff our chances of a good solution are better.
"We will first address the pressing problem at the internal medicine departments and also look at the needs of other specialities."
But it is unclear whether these new measures are part of a HK$100 million package announced last week to stop the brain drain of nurses and doctors. It aimed to create more senior posts and hire more trainees.
Dr Ho Pak-leung, a former head of the doctors' association, said he was unhappy with the proposed new measures because there were no operational details or timetables. Ho said the authority should also consider raising doctors' pay.
Public hospitals are losing doctors and nurses at a rate of 5 per cent. Some internal medicine departments are seeing turnover of 10 to 25 per cent, the highest since the authority was set up 20 years ago.
The South China Morning Post reported this month that it took 16 years for doctors in internal medicine departments, known as physicians, to be promoted from medical officer - the lowest rank - to senior medical officers. This is the longest wait for advancement in any speciality.
The lack of prospects has sparked an exodus of physicians - who are responsible for diagnosis and treatment of chronically ill and elderly patients - to other specialities or into the private sector. On Saturday, Tuen Mun Hospital doctors escalated demands for better work conditions in an open letter written in conjunction with the association. It said at least 16 junior doctors at the hospital's internal medicine department had quit since January last year and two more would leave in July, representing 25 per cent of the frontline doctors.
In reaction, the authority said it would send medics from other departments and more paramedics to help ease workloads, and it would create more senior posts for doctors.
Authority chief executive Leung Pak-yin will visit Tuen Mun Hospital today to listen to staff concerns.
Ho said each physician at Tuen Mun Hospital took care of 200 inpatients overnight, compared with an average of 110 elsewhere.
"A doctor there told me that he wanted to grab a few minutes to hide himself in the consultation room to finish his lunchbox, but a patient stormed into the room and accused him of being lazy," Ho said. "These are terrible work conditions."
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