HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL -8 March 1989
香港立法局 ————————一九八九年三月八日
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experienced doctors. Accordingly, the doctors in subvented hospitals will benefit from the honorarium, to which I referred earlier, on the same terms as their counterparts in government service, that is, subject to the approval of the Finance Committee of this Council this afternoon. Further, contrary to Mr. POON's belief, the Medical and Health Department has since January been in contact with all the subvented organizations to identify areas of service which would require more senior posts. It is expected that the exercise will be completed within the next couple of months.
Sir, it ought to be clear from what I have said already that where solutions can be found and improvements made in the short term, we are taking action. But, I repeat, there are no instant solutions to the many problems of our public hospitals. With respect to Dr. LEONG and Dr. IP, Sir, it did not require a strike or a crisis before the Government would admit that problems existed. When, in 1984, the Government engaged consultants to examine the delivery of medical services in hospitals, it did so because we were all too conscious of these problems.
The decision to establish a statutory Hospital Authority, with overall responsibility for the provision of services in all public hospitals, is a bold initiative to attack the root causes of these problems. It is not, as some critics of the decision have implied, an opportunity for the Government to "pass the buck". Nor do we contend that, overnight, it will provide the panacea to all ills. But, Sir, it is a crucial first step towards tackling those problems which we have not managed to overcome within the present framework for providing services.
Members of the Provisional Hospital Authority are working energetically and with great commitment to achieve our target of setting up the Hospital Authority in April 1990. I have no doubt that the expertise and breadth of vision which they are bringing to the task will ensure that a firm framework is established for the development of a public hospital system of which we can be truly proud in the years to come.
Sir, the problems which confront us now should not blind us to the achievements which have been made in the provision of medical and health services to the people of Hong Kong.
These achievements owe much to the rapid expansion of the medical and health system which has ensured that a comprehensive range of services are within easy reach of the vast majority of the population. since the publication of the 1974 Government White Paper "The Further Development of Medical and Health Services in Hong Kong", we have invested huge sums in the building of new hospitals and the extension of existing ones. The number of beds in