The Hospital Authority (HA) is a statutory body established under the Hospital Authority Ordinance (Cap. 113) (the HA Ordinance) in December 1990, responsible for managing all public hospitals in Hong Kong. The HA is accountable to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government through the Secretary for Food and Health.
The Board acknowledges its responsibility for and commitment to corporate governance principles and recognises that the Authority’s stakeholders expect the highest standards of performance, accountability and ethical behaviour.
The following outlines the approach and practices of corporate governance of the Authority.
Under the HA Ordinance, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR appoints members to the Authority Board. The 2013-14 Board consisted of 28 members, including the Chairman. Details are listed in Appendix 1. Membership of the Authority comprises 24 non-public officers, three public officers and one principal officer (the Hospital Authority Chief Executive). Apart from the principal officer, other members are not remunerated in the capacity as Board members.
The Authority Board meets formally about 12 times a year and any other times as required. In 2013-14, it met 15 times. In addition, three Board papers covering urgent matters were circulated for approval between meetings.
During the year, the Authority Board implemented a good number of enhancements on its corporate governance structure and processes, following the completion of a comprehensive review of governance practices focusing on the Board level as well as at the cluster/hospital level by an external consultant (the Phase 1 and Phase 2 Corporate Governance Reviews). These included strengthening the linkage between the HA Board and the Hospital Governing Committees (HGCs) through common membership and other enhanced communication channels; enhancing involvement of HGCs in strategic matters, long-term planning and experience sharing at the cluster/hospital level; enriching the contents of regular reports from Cluster Chief Executives to HGCs; organising more hospital visits and activities to facilitate communication between HGCs and hospital management and staff; reinforcing succession planning and streamlining of the HGC membership nomination process to promote healthy turnover; improving agenda setting to incorporate standing agenda items on risk management, senior staff movement and report of charitable trusts of hospital/cluster; and introducing annual self-assessment for HGCs.
For optimal performance of roles and exercise of powers, the HA Board has established 11 functional committees: Audit and Risk Committee, Executive Committee, Emergency Executive Committee, Finance Committee, Human Resources Committee, Information Technology Services Governing Committee, Main Tender Board, Medical Services Development Committee, Public Complaints Committee, Staff Appeals Committee and Supporting Services Development Committee. Membership of the committees, their terms of reference and focus of work in 2013-14 are outlined in Appendix 3.
To enhance community participation and governance of public hospitals in accordance with the HA Ordinance, 32 HGCs have been established in 40 hospitals and institutions. These committees are listed in Appendix 4. During the year, these committees received regular management reports from Hospital Chief Executives as well as from Cluster Chief Executives, monitored operational and financial performance of the hospitals, participated in human resources and procurement processes, as well as hospital and community partnership activities. In 2013-14, the 32 HGCs held a total of 126 meetings.
In accordance with the HA Ordinance, the Authority has established three Regional Advisory Committees to provide HA with advice on the healthcare needs for specific regions of Hong Kong. These committees and their respective membership are presented in Appendix 5. Each Regional Advisory Committee meets four times a year.
In 2013-14, the Regional Advisory Committees discussed, amongst other agenda items, waiting time management for specialist outpatient clinics, overview of the planning process in the HA as well as clinical performance monitoring. Other topics covered included the Joint Replacement Centre in the Kowloon Central Cluster, Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) situation update, community psychiatric services and eye services in the New Territories, and progress report of hospital expansion and redevelopment projects.
The Committees also deliberated on the annual plan targets of individual clusters and exchanged views on the provision of 24-hour percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) service, doctor and nurse manpower ratios, as well as provision of service to non-local pregnant women whose spouses were Hong Kong permanent residents.
The executive management team of the HA is outlined in Appendix 2(b). The executives are charged by the HA Board with the responsibility to manage and administer day-to-day business and operations. To ensure that the management can discharge duties in an effective and efficient manner, the HA Board has set out clear delegated authority, policies and codes of conduct. The Board also approves an annual plan prepared by the executives in accordance with the Board’s direction. Regular executive reports on the progress of the agreed performance indicators and targets are presented to the Board.
Under the powers stipulated in the HA Ordinance, the Authority determines the remuneration and terms and conditions of employment for all its employees. Remuneration packages of executive directors and other senior managers are devised to attract, motivate and retain high calibre individuals in a competitive talent market. Remuneration packages of all senior executives are endorsed by the HA Board through the Executive Committee.