The Government has earmarked $500 million in additional funding for the Hospital Authority to implement measures to relieve the manpower shortage in public hospitals. 

Making the announcement ahead of today’s Executive Council meeting, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the funding could go towards recruiting part-time doctors and nurses, including some retirees, streamlining procedures, reducing the clerical and administrative work, putting more money into the hospitals, and using a Special Honorarium Scheme to engage more staff.

“All these are valid measures which the Hospital Authority will undertake, which the Government supports. So in order to ensure all these short-term measures could be implemented more smoothly and effectively, I am announcing now that, like last year, the Government has reserved a one-off allocation of $500 million that the Hospital Authority can come back anytime to apply for the use of funding in order to effect those measures.”

The Chief Executive also expressed her deepest gratitude to all the medical nursing, allied health and supporting staff in the city’s public hospitals, who she acknowledged have been shouldering extreme pressure and workload on a continuous basis, particularly during this winter flu season.