Hospital Authority chief executive Shane Solomon, whose contract is up at the end of next month, has been reappointed for three years. He will continue to earn the same salary - HK$4.25 million a year. Last week, legislators criticised the awarding of pay rises to senior authority managers, citing a string of medical blunders. Mr Solomon, formerly executive director of public health and aged-care services in the Australian state of Victoria, has headed the authority since March 1, 2006. Authority chairman Anthony Wu Ting-yuk said he was confident that Mr Solomon would be able to lead the authority 'in continuing to uphold the integrity of the public health care system and providing quality health care in partnership with the private sector to meet ever-changing community needs'. Last night, Mr Solomon told the South China Morning Post: 'There is still a lot to do and I am looking forward to the challenge of the next three years. It is an honour to be selected to continue leading the Hospital Authority.' Duncan Ho Hung-kwong, a past president of the Public Doctors Association, welcomed the news. 'A lot of blunders we cannot blame on him. They happened because of the [authority's] culture,' he said. Dr Ho said three years was too short a time for Mr Solomon to make changes in the authority. 'Give him another three years and maybe he can be more decisive and execute the changes,' he said. Kwok Ka-ki, a former legislator for the medical sector, said Mr Solomon had not lived up to expectations in his first term. 'He did not meet the public's expectation that the authority's governance would improve,' he said. Dr Kwok called for greater transparency in the contract process. 'If you renew Solomon's contract, you need to tell us why, what has been achieved, what has been included in his new contract?' Dr Kwok said.
