Hong Kong health chief Ko Wing-man dismisses fears of higher charges in public hospitals
Health minister Dr Ko Wing-man says the government has “no intention” of raising fees at public hospitals in the near future after senior doctors won a pay increase last week.
Health minister Dr Ko Wing-man says the government has “no intention” of raising fees at public hospitals in the near future after senior doctors won a pay increase last week.
The Hospital Authority’s board unanimously voted to grant a 3 per cent rise to 2,000 senior doctors to be on par with senior civil servants, whose wages were based on the 2013 pay-level survey report. The once-every-six-years adjustment is in addition to annual pay adjustments.
The year-long backdated additional pay rise will cost the authority HK$200 million a year.
READ MORE: Hong Kong's senior public hospital medics to get 3pc pay rise after rare high-profile protest
Authority chief executive Dr Leung Pak-yin suggested last week it was time to discuss charges. He said the authority had reserves of HK$3 billion but the board would have to consider whether the extra payouts would affect sustainability.
At a charity event yesterday, Ko dismissed fears of higher charges and said: “I’m positive that the Hospital Authority is able to implement this in a short period of time.”
The minister also addressed the issue of organ donations following the recent death of a 19-year-old woman who waited in vain for more than two weeks for a double lung transplant.
Ko said the government would launch a public survey to gather opinions on various organ donation schemes.
He said a proposal to make all Hongkongers potential organ donors unless they opted out was a controversial one and was rejected more than 10 years ago to respect individual rights.
