Chairman’s Review

Ten years after the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong, the selfless efforts of the fallen heroes and the entire Hospital Authority (HA) staff in battling the deadly disease and safeguarding people’s health demonstrate professional and personal dedication that remain a defining characteristic of our service.

A decade on, the painful memories of the loss of six frontline colleagues still burn bright but we have become a stronger organisation. We have adopted improved measures. We have set up Infectious Disease Control and Training Centre. We have over 1,400 isolation beds across our hospital network. We have good supply of protective gear, medicines and medical equipment. We have also established a Major Incident Control Centre to help ensure effective and efficient deployment of resources in the event of a serious healthcare crisis. These improvements have significantly enhanced our ability to combat any future outbreaks of contagious disease.

Over the years, HA has developed into an internationally respected public healthcare system. Amidst ongoing internal and external challenges in 2012-13, our dedicated workforce of 64,000 employees continued to provide comprehensive and high-quality medical care. I am deeply honoured to serve as Chairman of HA – which handles about 90% of Hong Kong’s secondary and tertiary healthcare needs spending only 2.4% of GDP. With the highest life expectancy and relatively low expenditure on healthcare per capita, our healthcare system is ranked among one of the most efficient in the world.

I am greatly encouraged by the progress we have made in improving the well-being of the people of Hong Kong through better service prioritisation, facilities modernisation, workflow re-engineering and the use of modern technology. But we will not become complacent. Aging population, rising public expectations and the recurrent threat of outbreaks of contagious diseases are major factors driving us to effectively discharge our vital social role in safeguarding health of the community.

I would like to express my gratitude to the Hong Kong government for continual strong support to HA, including 6.7% increase in annual recurrent funding in 2012-13 to HK$42 billion. We are especially overjoyed to get the green light for the long-awaited redevelopment project of two of the oldest hospitals in Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital and Kwong Wah Hospital. The two redevelopment projects, in addition to the expansion project of United Christian Hospital, are going to give a facelift to the outdated building structures and obsolete facilities now our patients and healthcare staff are bearing with.

We welcomed Mr William Chan Fu-keung, Dr Constance Chan Hon-yee, Mr Lester Garson Huang, Professor Diana Lee Tze-fan, Ms Esther Leung Yuet-yin, Dr Li Chi-kong and Mr Wong Kwai-huen as new HA Board members during the year. Their expertise and experience will help HA map a steady course forward.

I am indebted to all members of the Board, Regional Advisory Committees and Hospital Governing Committees, and to the co-opted members of our functional committees for their guidance and advice. My sincere gratitude also goes to patient groups, District and Legislative Council members, and to our 18,000 volunteers who contributed nearly 500,000 hours in service to our hospitals and institutions over the past year.

In expressing my deep appreciation to all HA staff, I congratulate the winners of Outstanding Staff and Teams Award this year. We are blessed to have the dedication and support of every member of the HA team. With passion and professionalism, I am confident that we will continue to provide quality healthcare and a strong safety net for the people of Hong Kong.

Anthony T Y Wu, GBS, JP
Chairman

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