Hong Kong hospital support staff protest against labour shortages in wards during flu season
- Unions say one nurse and two care assistants have to tend to as many as 50 to 55 patients per night as admissions remain high
- Nurses and doctors have already called on the government to provide more staff to deal with the workload
Support staff at public hospitals who do orderly work, such as changing diapers and washing patients, staged a protest on Wednesday decrying insufficient workers to handle the heavy workload during winter influenza season.
A representative from the Hong Kong Medical and Health Care Staff General Union says that two care assistants and one nurse have to serve as many as 50 to 55 patients per night between them in hospital wards.
The union’s protest came after an outcry from doctors and nurses, who have also criticised the overcrowding in hospitals, with a rise in patients admitted during flu season.
“[A patient care assistant] might be helping a patient change diapers, while another patient asks for water. It is hard to handle it all at once,” said Ng Wai-ling, a patient care assistant and chairwoman of the Hospital Authority Supporting Grades Staff Association, an affiliate of the Medical and Health Care Staff General Union.
