$566m for hospitals to keep talent

Some HK$566 million has been earmarked for the Hospital Authority to retain talents in public hospitals as the government plans to allocate HK$97.7 billion on health care, accounting for 13.4 percent of total estimated public expenditure and HK$9.8 billion higher than the 2019-20 fiscal year.

The authority will get a total of HK$76.6 billion - an increase of 5.6 percent - comprising HK$75 billion in recurrent subventions and a HK$1.6 billion capital subvention.

"Given the surge in demand for public hospital services in recent years, it is our top priority to provide sufficient manpower," Paul Chan said.

The authority set up a task group in December to focus on retaining staff and the government is backing its proposals with over HK$500 million.

It is planning to promote 200 doctors within the next five years, while a government source revealed nurses with specialty qualifications will earn more.

"With money injected to encourage nurses to pursue professional development, those who have attained specialty qualifications will be rewarded with a monthly allowance," the source said.

The Special Retired and Rehire Scheme will also be enhanced with longer contracts and higher salaries for experienced doctors to continue their services after retirement.

The budget for these three measures is expected to be gradually increased by 6.5 times, from HK$160 million next fiscal year to HK$1.2 billion in 2025-26.

The rest of the money for manpower enhancement will be spent on other measures such as better welfare and recruiting non-locally trained doctors.

"The government has already committed resources on this front," Chan said, adding that manpower enhancement will be financially supported in the long run.

Meanwhile, HK$17 million is expected to go to developing a patient database for medical organizations' research. The fund will also cover new policies such as genetic and genomic services, child assessment services and newborn screening.

As for the department of health, a total of HK$11 billion - an increase of 3.8 percent or HK$400 million - is planned, including HK$20 million for policies such as a Pertussis vaccine scheme for those who are pregnant and the prevention of Hepatitis B maternal transmission.

In the 2019-20 fiscal year, HK$2 billion in recurrent provisions was granted for anti-epidemic spending, but the sum falls to HK$970 million.

The source said that large expenditures for facilities such as quarantine centers have already been settled this fiscal term, and thus the budget is smaller for next year.