Hong Kong health chief says 10-year plan will help public hospitals retain manpower
Speaking on radio programme, Dr Ko Wing-man touched on benefits of new plan to expand or redevelop more than 10 hospitals, and provide 5,000 extra beds and over 90 new operating theatres
Laying out a 10-year overall hospital development plan would be useful to retain manpower in the public sector, the health minister said.
In Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s policy address on Wednesday, he announced plans to earmark HK$200 billion to implement a 10-year plan, with measures including expansion or redevelopment of more than 10 hospitals, and provision of 5,000 extra beds and over 90 new operating theatres in public hospitals.
Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man said on a Commercial Radio programme on Friday morning that the plan would help retain medical professionals in public hospitals.
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“If I knew how this hospital would transform in five or 10 years’ time, that would affect my long-term plan. If I’m interested in developing [my career] in the hospital, at least I could see a vision in the future,” said Ko, assuming the viewpoint of hospital staff.
He said the plan would also facilitate the manpower planning of the Hospital Authority in the long run.
To meet the growing manpower needs in the medical sector, apart from increasing training quotas for local health professionals, Ko said the Medical Council has also increased the frequency of licensing exams for foreign-trained doctors and amended internship requirements, so as to attract more foreign doctors to join the local sector.
However, he said he could not give an answer on how to meet the recurrent costs incurred by extra beds and hospitals in the coming 30 years.
“It depends on the economic growth and conditions at that time ... is it possible for us to build hospitals 10 or 20 years later only when we realise the demand?” said Ko.
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While One Belt, One Road was highlighted in the policy address, Ko said the work of his bureau would be more focused on local needs.
“The capacity in both public and private sectors is insufficient … if we can’t take good care of local residents, how can we focus on attracting foreigners to receive treatment in Hong Kong?” asked Ko, adding that the incumbent government has put aside plans for medical tourism.
As the policy address also indicated a plan to develop an Agricultural Park, Ko said the government aimed to provide a more stable source of land for farmers, and the land for the park, which will run for at least several decades, would not be reserved for redevelopment.
