The Hospital Authority (HA) Convention 2024 is being held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on May 16-17. The HA Convention this year is focusing on the HA’s core values; namely “people-centered care”, “professional service”, “committed staff” and “teamwork”.
As Hong Kong swiftly regains its vitality after the COVID-19 pandemic, the HA is moving at full steam to enhance our quality healthcare services. The first and foremost task we have undertaken in this regard since 2023 is to recruit globally more nonlocally trained doctors. I am happy to report that we have been able to make significant progress in this regard. As of this date, the number of nonlocally trained doctors working at the HA has increased by about three times, from a meager 40-odd in 2022 to around 150. With the establishment of the HA Global Healthcare Professional Recruitment Centre last year to provide one-stop services for potential candidates, we have seen a further boost in inquiries and applications. We are confident that by the end of this year, over 250 nonlocally trained doctors will be working at the HA.
Meanwhile, we welcome the Nurses Registration (Amendment) Bill 2023, introduced by the Health Bureau, to create new pathways for admitting eligible nonlocally trained nurses to address the shortage of nurses. The HA will actively facilitate the government’s policy and endeavor to attract qualified nonlocally trained nurses to serve Hong Kong residents in public hospitals.
In parallel, we have also commenced various exchange programs with major mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and beyond, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Macao. In particular, the GBA healthcare talents exchange programs, which were successfully launched last year, have continued into their second year with more participants. Already, over 100 doctors and nurses are working in our hospitals, and we are expecting more doctors to arrive in the coming months to alleviate our personnel shortage.
This progress would not have been possible without the support of the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, whose policy support is always timely, strong and substantive.
In this two-day conference, more than 160 distinguished speakers and experts gather to share knowledge and experiences on a variety of topics covering healthcare development, smart hospitals, advances in transplantation, and more. I am sure that we could all gain new inspiration and insights into new developments and best clinical practices from leading experts in various fields
By definition, an exchange has to be a two-way process. In the past year, the HA sent its medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, radiographers and medical physicists, to various renowned hospitals in the mainland to enrich their professional experience. Their feedback has been very positive, and it is our intention to allow more colleagues to participate in such exchange programs as our recruitment efforts bear fruit later this year to alleviate our colleagues’ current heavy workload.
A second task the HA has been working on to enhance service efficiency and quality is the development of smart initiatives. Over the last several years, the HA has accelerated this task significantly, achieving tangible targets. Two of these initiatives have had a major bearing on our efforts to provide quality patient-centric services.
The first is the promotion of usage of the HA mobile app HA Go, which enhances patients’ healthcare journey and enables convenient healthcare management at home. With HA Go, patients can easily book appointments, receive timely reminders, and make electronic payments to avoid clinic queues. They can also request home drug delivery after consultation, ensuring a seamless and pleasant experience. At home, patients can review prescribed materials like exercises, medication information, and lab results, taking control of their health. With concerted promotion efforts by the Head Office and all hospitals, the number of HA Go users has increased from 800,000 in April 2022 to over 2.5 million in April this year, more than tripling in two years, and this trend is continuing.
The second major smart initiative is the wider use of Telehealth. By leveraging HA Go as the “digital front door”, we believe there is great potential in expanding the scope of Telehealth to cover outpatient, day-patient, and outreach care. Imagine the convenience for families if elderly patients in stable condition could have follow-up visits conducted online and receive medication delivered directly to their homes, eliminating the need for them to visit outpatient clinics accompanied by their offspring, who probably are working and busy. This transformative approach to healthcare delivery promises enhanced accessibility and ease for all.
Infrastructure is another pillar for the HA to optimize public healthcare services, and we are pressing ahead with two hospital development plans. Projects that include Phase 1 of the redevelopment of Queen Mary Hospital, the HA Supporting Services Centre, and the North District Community Centre will soon be completed.
Apart from modernizing the hospital hardware, the HA is taking forward a series of measures to address the structural issues in managing the escalating service demand arising from the aging population; the rising prevalence of chronic illnesses; and the increasing community expectations. These measures include reorienting service models and strengthening the development of ambulatory care services. For instance, we have launched the Ambulatory Diagnostic Radiology Service Pilot Programme and other healthcare services at the Central Government Aided Emergency Hospital. With good use of existing facilities supported by our country, these services have shortened the waiting time of patients, from whom positive feedback has been received. We are grateful for the central government’s consistent support.
In this two-day conference, more than 160 distinguished speakers and experts gather to share knowledge and experiences on a variety of topics covering healthcare development, smart hospitals, advances in transplantation, and more. I am sure that we could all gain new inspiration and insights into new developments and best clinical practices from leading experts in various fields.
The author is chairman of the Hospital Authority.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
