HONG KONG: The working conditions of public hospital doctors remain long and gruelling and at the center of grievances among doctors with the Hospital Authority (HA). But things have improved compared to 2006, a HA report shows.

There are improvements in reducing continuous work hours. "The number of doctors undertaking on-site on-call duties for more than 24 hours at one go has dropped from 340 in 2006 to 221 on the snapshot weekday in 2009," HA Chief Executive Shane Solomon said.

However, these minor improvements are winning no applause from physicians. Siu Yuk Leung, deputy chairman of the Frontline Doctor Union, says the measures aimed at improving conditions are far from adequate. "The report does not show the actual working hours of doctors but their assigned working hours," he remarked. "It is unfair to say there is no improvement, but still it is not enough."

"The HA will continue to address doctors' prolonged work hours issues and strive to attain the 65-hour per week cap for all frontline doctors in the coming years and bring down their continuous work hours to reasonable levels in the long term," Solomon said.

At the Administrative and Operational Meeting yesterday, Steering Committee on Doctor Working Hour Chairman Leong Che-hung acknowledged that the health and welfare of the doctors is important. "The reform cannot be taken along without improving staff morale. Its success is dependent upon the concerted efforts of all and the HA recommends maintaining the momentum of reform, in order to improve the working conditions of frontline doctors in public hospitals," he said.

The pilot work reform programs started at the end of 2007. The programs include the deployment of more doctors to pressurized areas; re-engineering of emergency operating theater services; establishment of Emergency Medicine wards; and introduction of care technician services.

There are about 250 public hospital doctors working more than 65 hours a week at present. Surgeons and gynecologist-obstetricians are the most-affected groups.

The HA set up a Steering Committee on Doctor Working Hours in October 2006 to review and formulate recommendations to improve issues related to long working hours of public hospital doctors.

(HK Edition 02/26/2010 page1)