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Look beyond short-term fixes amid flu surge
I refer to the report about desperate nurses stretched to the limit by the winter flu outbreak (“Hong Kong nurses pushed to breaking point”, February 3). Even the Hospital Authority chief has warned of a “protracted war” against the disease, with the flu season expected to last until the end of May.
The government should think of long-term solutions to tackle the shortage of nurses and the crisis sparked by each flu season.
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The report said some nurses were unable to finish their daily work even if they skipped “eating, resting, or going to the toilet”, with night shifts even worse. It is clear that this is a manpower problem. With situations where two nurses could be asked to tend to as many as 50 patients, what quality of care could be expected?
The crisis prompted Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to inject HK$500 million into public hospitals, as support for short-term or immediate measures, including hiring new clerical staff – to reduce nurses’ administrative burden – and part-time medical professionals.
Hospitals see rush of patients amid flu surge
But with our rapidly ageing city facing a chronic shortage of nurses and frontline medical staff, it is clear that both training and recruiting will have to be stepped up in the long term, so that hospitals don’t reach crisis point with every seasonal flu surge.
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