Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ14: Advanced Practice Nurse Pilot Scheme

Following is a question by the Hon Michael Mak and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, in the Legislative Council today (June 16):

Question:

In regard to the Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) Pilot Scheme implemented by the Hospital Authority (HA), will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

(a) the respective numbers of APNs employed on contract terms and fixed terms and, among them, the respective numbers of contract and fixed-term APNs who had civil servant status prior to their appointment to such posts, with breakdowns by whether they have given up or are retaining such status, or have not yet decided;

(b) whether HA has issued guidelines to all nursing staff on the division of responsibilities and cooperation arrangements between APNs and other nursing staff; if it has, of the details of such guidelines; if not, the reasons for that;

(d) if the promotion opportunities of other nursing staff not joining the APN Pilot Scheme will be affected; if so, of the details in this regard?

Reply:

The APN is part of a proposed new nursing grade structure of the HA, designed to enhance professional accountability and role of nurses with the principle of linking career advancement of nurses to professional competence and development. In September 2003, the HA launched an 18-month pilot scheme for the creation of posts of APN.

(a) A total of 167 APNs had been appointed as at end of April 2004. Among them, 166 are HA employees and one is a civil servant. As this is a pilot scheme, APNs are appointed for a fixed period of time to tie in with the duration of the scheme. In addition, it is also the prevailing human resource policy to offer contract/fixed term employment for all promotional ranks. Those who cease their APN status at any time may revert to their previous substantive ranks so long as they are previously employed on a permanent basis.

(b) The HA has widely publicised details of the APN pilot scheme through open forums and nursing staff group consultative committee meetings. Information on the pilot scheme including its objectives, guides to appointment, key responsibilities of the APNs and other nursing grade review information are available on the HA intranet, which is accessible to HA staff. The key responsibilities of an APN are to -

* perform specialist role in a clinical specialty;

* provide advanced nursing care to patients and relatives;

* act as a resource and referral agent on clinical expertise;

* teach and advise on clinical practice;

* counsel and teach patients, relatives, staff and public;

* initiate and participate in evidence-based practice and research; and

* lead the nursing team within a clinical unit.

The APN Pilot Scheme is the first step in the building up of the proposed new nursing grade structure which has not been tested in the local clinical setting. One of the objectives of this scheme is to test the proposed roles and responsibilities of APNs vis-�j-vis other nursing grade staff. The current roles and responsibilities of APNs and the division of responsibilities between APNs and other nursing grade staff are therefore subject to fine-tuning.

(d) The promotion prospect of staff members is generally determined by two factors, namely, the number of promotion posts available and the individual merits of staff. The pilot APN scheme has no impact on the number of other promotion posts in the nursing grade. As for the latter, the suitability of each applicant for promotion positions will be assessed on his/her own merits as against the requirements for the job, including the possession of the requisite academic qualification. There are no changes to the selection or recruitment process in HA with the introduction of the APN pilot scheme.

Ends/Wednesday, June 16, 2004

NNNN