Winter Influenza Response Plan
Winter flu peakWith the peak season approaching, the Hospital Authority will begin its "Winter Service Peak Response Plan" on December 1. To cope with the number of patients seeking medical treatment during the winter flu season, the Hospital Authority has allocated approximately HK$732 million to its hospital networks and will add 506 new beds, while more than 900 temporary beds will be opened as needed during peak periods.
Increase medical and nursing allowances by 10%
Hospital Authority Chief Executive (Network Operations) Cheung Tsz-yin indicated that demand for influenza services throughout the winter will be from early December to the end of May, with January and the Lunar New Year expected to be the peak season for winter influenza. In response to the shortage of healthcare personnel, Cheung has hired an additional 190 doctors, 845 nurses, and 1,630 administrative and support staff.
In addition, the Hospital Authority will implement an optimized version of the Special Remuneration Scheme from January to May, increasing the allowance for medical staff by 10%. After January 27 (the third day of the Lunar New Year), the allowance for medical staff working during night shifts, public holidays, and other times when manpower is more scarce will be increased to 20%. In addition to increasing the allowance, this year's Special Remuneration Scheme also relaxes the requirement of working hours for the allowance, allowing for a minimum of 1 hour of work instead of the previous requirement of working at least 4 hours.
The Hospital Authority has also added more than 25,500 additional general outpatient service slots, including more than 5,000 additional services during the three long holidays. In addition to the original 13 general outpatient clinics on public holidays, four additional general outpatient clinics will provide services on designated days during the long holidays, aiming to cover all 17 districts of Hong Kong.
Dr. Tsui Sik-hon, chairman of the Hospital Authority's Emergency and Critical Care Committee, indicated that the emergency and critical care units are coping with...Winter fluIn response to the increasing number of patients, we will continue to recruit part-time and part-time self-selected medical staff, and offer higher salaries to part-time self-selected emergency room doctors, increasing from NT$700 per hour last year to NT$1,000 per hour.
