Public doctors must be given a day off after working for six days, according to a new Hospital Authority order. The move follows a threat of legal action from some members of the Public Doctors' Association, who said the authority was continuing to break labour laws by requiring doctors to work overtime. An authority survey in August found that only 60 per cent of 90 clinical departments in 11 major hospitals gave rest days to doctors every week. Under the Employment Ordinance, a contracted worker is entitled to not less than one rest day every week. Failure to comply can result in a $50,000 fine. A spokesman for the authority could not confirm whether the order would take effect in April, as some reports suggested. 'Hospital managements are required to abide by the rest day requirements,' a statement said. It said the authority had established monitoring mechanisms to ensure public doctors were not on-call more than one day in three. 'This has already been achieved in all public hospitals for all doctors and interns,' it said. 'With the increase in net numbers of doctors, [the Hospital Authority] can now ensure that all public hospitals compensate doctors who work on statutory holidays.' Dr Leung Ka-lau, president of the Public Doctors' Association, said last night he had been told earlier that the order would take effect in July but that it was being advanced to April 1. He feared this might mean longer working hours for doctors: 'If they give us the rest days but increase our working hours per week, that will be even worse.' The order has not resolved the issue of whether doctors can claim compensation for days off owed to them. maryann@scmp.com
