Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ12: Doctors working in general outpatient clinics
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today
(January 30):
Question:
It has been reported that starting from October 1, 2007, the Hospital Authority
(HA) offers a nine-year employment contract to doctors undergoing specialist
training. Yet, some doctors working in HA's general outpatient clinics (GOPCs)
told me that they were recently offered a one-year renewal contract only (and
the total duration of their renewed and previous contracts was still under nine
years), and the heavy workload also affected their training opportunities. In
this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of a breakdown of the number of doctors working in GOPCs at present by their
employment status (i.e. civil servants, permanent staff, contract staff etc.);
(b) since July 2003, of the respective annual numbers of GOPC doctors recruited
and those who were not offered contract renewal, as well as the reasons thereof;
(c) of the reasons for not offering a nine-year employment contract to doctors
working in GOPCs and whether HA has considered the effect of this measure on the
morale of the staff concerned;
(d) of the current minimum, average and maximum numbers of patients attended by
GOPC doctors in each four-hour session and whether HA has assessed if the
workload of these doctors has affected their training opportunities; and
(e) when HA assigns work to GOPC doctors, how many hours per week it grants to
those doctors undergoing specialist training in Family Medicine for receiving
the relevant training, and whether HA gives the other GOPC doctors time or
subsidy for participating in continuing medical education activities; if so, of
the details?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) Currently, doctors working in general outpatient clinics (GOPCs) under the
Hospital Authority (HA) can be divided into two categories: one comprising
doctors employed by GOPCs and the other comprising family medicine trainees
under specialist training. A breakdown of the number of these doctors by their
employment status is set out at Annex I.
(b) The numbers of GOPC doctors on contract terms recruited annually by the HA
and those who did not renew contracts since July 2003 are set out at Annex II.
In general, the reasons for not renewing contracts included that the HA decided
not to renew contracts based on the consideration of service needs and the
performance of the doctors, or doctors resigned during their employment period
or declined the contract renewal offer according to their own will.
(c) For doctors working in GOPCs on contract terms not under any specialist
training, their contract periods are normally set at not more than three years
subject to service needs. Upon contract completion, the HA will consider
arrangements for renewal of their contracts in the light of their performance
and service needs. For family medicine trainees working in GOPCs, they were
employed on two two-year contracts in the past. To cope with the specialist
training requirements, the HA has introduced a new "nine-year training contract"
at the end of 2007 to ensure that doctors under specialist training have
sufficient time to complete their training. For family medicine trainees
employed since the end of 2007, they are offered a nine-year employment contract
upon appointment. Under the contract, they are required to meet the specified
performance requirements within the contract period and pass the intermediate
examination within six years.
This new mechanism is also applicable to those family medicine trainees who
joined the HA before the end of 2007 and are still serving in the HA. These
doctors will be offered a new contract if they meet the specified performance
requirements and pass the intermediate examination as required. The total
contract period of the new and existing contracts will add up to nine years. The
HA is now making arrangement for these doctors to change to the new contract
terms in batches.
(d) According to the figures in December 2007, overall speaking, the number of
consultations provided by GOPC doctors in each of the consultation sessions (4
hours each) ranged from 26 to 44, with 37 on average. In general, for family
medicine trainees working in GOPCs, duties are assigned to them based on the
service and operational needs and the training requirements. The present work
arrangement is not only in compliance with the training requirements of the Hong
Kong College of Family Physicians but can also meet the overall service needs of
the GOPCs.
(e) Family medicine trainees working in GOPCs are arranged to receive training
of not less than three hours per week from qualified family medicine specialist
doctors in the GOPCs. Besides, according to the rules laid down by the Hong Kong
College of Family Physicians, family medicine trainees under the HA have to
attend one session (about three hours) of seminars on basic family medicine each
week.
The HA always encourages serving GOPC doctors to participate in training
programmes on family medicine or primary health care, including family medicine
specialist training and diploma or master degree programmes on family medicine.
The relevant department will provide necessary coordination in light of the
service operation and manpower arrangement. Besides, the HA also encourages all
serving doctors to take continuous learning activities organised by the HA or
other institutions on a voluntary basis.
Ends/Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Issued at HKT 12:20
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