Community treatment center offers HK$50,000 salary to poach care workers

AsiaWorld-Expo community treatment facility offered up to HK$50,000 per month to attract caregivers, causing resignations in public hospitals.

Sing Tao Daily, the sister newspaper of the Standard, reported that the increase in treatment and isolation facilities across Hong Kong triggers a surge in demand for caregivers. It causes fierce competition between the facilities and public hospitals. 

The community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo treats patients with mild symptoms, allowing public hospitals to focus on caring for those with severe symptoms. It was understood that in order to attract staffers, it once offered a monthly salary of as much as HK$50,000. 

The first isolation center for the elderly with mild symptoms, operated by charitable organization Po Leung Kuk, has recently opened at Choi Wing Road Sports Centre in Kwun Tong. The center offered more than HK$30,000 per month to recruit caregivers.

At the same time, some elderly homes with confirmed cases offered salaries two to three times the normal level to attract workers. 

The shortage of manpower in public hospitals, especially emergency departments, is further aggravated, according to frontline staffers.  

A care worker working in a public hospital said the number of patients waiting at the emergency department skyrocketed in recent months. Some of them are elderly people with Covid symptoms.

“Many care workers have hopped to other jobs. Those who stay face the biggest pressure ever. It is a vicious circle," she said. 

She also said the shortage of manpower will not only prolong the waiting time of patients but even affect the hospital's emergency services.

"If a patient is sent to a hospital in an emergency, care workers need to measure his or her blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen level every two hours. But the guidelines cannot be be followed through as hospitals are seriously understaffed."

She said a patient arrived at the hospital a couple of days ago with blood oxygen dropping to 50 percent of normal level. 

According to past practice, the patient should be given first aid immediately. But treatment was delayed for about five minutes. 

Lawmaker Frankie Ngan Man-yu described the situation as "extremely unsatisfactory", saying the government has the responsibility to coordinate recruitment at isolation facilities as many of them are outsourced by government departments.

"Authorities may consider raising the salary of public hospitals positions accordingly, to avoid those staffer heading to other isolation facilities,” he said.