Press Releases

SFH speaks on seasonal influenza

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, after visiting the Prince of Wales Hospital today (August 3):

Reporter: Do you think the government underestimated the influenza this year, especially this summer time? Would you consider like hiring more full-time doctors as suggested by the College of Physicians...

Secretary for Food and Health: Obviously, the summer surge this year is something that we have not expected. However, the Hospital Authority has acted very fast with a number of short-term measures, including getting some beds from private hospitals, getting part-time doctors as well as providing special honorarium for existing staff and also increasing the number of quotas of general outpatient clinics. So, these are short-term measures. Obviously, in the long term, we have to deal with the manpower problem so that it can truly reflect the service demand. Therefore, in terms of healthcare professionals -- the doctors, the nurses and other allied health professionals including supporting staff, we have to see how best we can work out a plan to increase the manpower.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

Ends/Thursday, August 3, 2017
Issued at HKT 21:22
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