Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ12: Work arrangements for pregnant nurses in public hospitals
Following is a question by Professor the Hon Joseph Lee and a written reply by
the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council
today (May 4):
Qustion:
In the middle of last month, a nurse who was 30 weeks into her pregnancy and
worked in a public hospital collapsed during her night shift. After
resuscitation, she needed to remain in the hospital for treatment. Some nurses
in public hospitals have pointed out that the Hospital Authority has implemented
the Continuous Night Shift Scheme (the Scheme) since 1994. Under the Scheme,
when the overall frequency of night shift duties undertaken by the nurses in a
ward exceeds once in every seven days, the ward-in-charge will activate the
Scheme to recruit nurses who are willing to undertake night shift duties
continuously and provide them with an allowance, with a view to reducing as far
as practicable the frequency of night shift duties of nurses to not more than
once in every seven days. Regarding the work arrangements for pregnant nurses in
public hospitals, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows the
following information for the past five years, broken down by public hospital
and ward:
(1) the number of pregnant nurses each year and, among them, the respective
numbers of nurses who, being one to 12 weeks, 13 to 24 weeks, 25 to 36 weeks and
more than 36 weeks into pregnancy (the four stages of pregnancy), felt unwell
while on duty and therefore took sick leave;
(2) whether the hospitals concerned had made arrangements for staff replacement
when the nurses mentioned in (1) were on sick leave; if so, of a breakdown of
the figures on replacement staff by each of the four stages of pregnancy; if
not, the reasons for that; whether the hospitals concerned had activated the
Scheme when those nurses were on sick leave; if so, of the number of nurses who
joined the Scheme and the number of weeks for which the Scheme had been
implemented; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) the respective average frequencies of night shift duties undertaken by the
nurses at each stage of pregnancy mentioned in (1), how such figures compare
with the average frequency of night shift duties undertaken by other nurses in
the same ward during the same period; whether the hospitals concerned had
activated the Scheme during the pregnancy of those nurses; if not, of the
reasons for that; if so, the number of nurses who joined the Scheme and the
number of weeks for which the Scheme had been implemented; the average frequency
of night shift duties undertaken by pregnant nurses during the period when the
Scheme was implemented, with a breakdown by each of the four stages of
pregnancy; and
(4) whether the hospitals concerned had made arrangements for staff replacement
when the nurses mentioned in (1) were on maternity leave; if so, of the details;
if not, the reasons for that; whether the hospitals concerned had activated the
Scheme when those nurses were on maternity leave; if so, of the number of nurses
who joined the Scheme and the number of weeks for which the Scheme had been
implemented; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In respect of the various parts of the question raised by Professor the Hon
Joseph Lee regarding the work arrangements for pregnant nurses in public
hospitals, my consolidated reply is as follows:
As the Hospital Authority (HA) does not require its staff to declare their
health conditions (e.g. whether they are pregnant or what their weeks of
pregnancy are) in sick leave applications, it has not maintained information
about nurses taking sick leave during pregnancy (including their weeks of
pregnancy while on sick leave) and the relevant data. Nor has it maintained the
frequency of night shift duties performed by these nurses and the information of
the Continuous Night Shift Scheme so implemented.
Annex 1 sets out the number of nurses applying for maternity leave in the past
five years.
When there are nurses on maternity leave, HA will deploy manpower flexibly
according to the actual circumstances and implement the Continuous Night Shift
Scheme where necessary to ensure that appropriate manpower is provided at all
times for the provision of necessary services to patients.
The Continuous Night Shift Scheme provides additional allowance for nurses who
are willing and required to undertake night shift duties for a long period of
time, so as to reduce the frequency of night duties undertaken by other nurses
in the ward. Annex 2 sets out the number of nurses participating in the
Continuous Night Shift Scheme in all hospital clusters under HA in the past five
years.
Ends/Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:53
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