Hong Kong to hold public hospital executives accountable for medical incidents
The senior management of Hong Kong's public hospitals will be held accountable for medical incidents, in addition to frontline staff, the Hospital Authority has said, as part of measures to ensure patient safety.
The authority said on Thursday that the power to appoint and dismiss staff would be assigned to hospital chief executives and department heads instead of headquarters, streamlining the process for replacing underperforming employees.
'This means if a manager identifies an underperforming colleague within their team, they can replace them,' Hospital Authority chairman Henry Fan Hung-ling said.
'Those who fail to meet certain standards will be required to join a performance improvement programme for no more than three months.
'If they do not improve to an acceptable level within three months, we will take appropriate disciplinary action based on the situation.'
Patient safety would be listed as one of the critical assessment criteria in staff appraisals, he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
16 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Sweet treat sours: high bacteria count in Hong Kong Godiva dark chocolate ice cream
Hong Kong authorities have ordered a branch of the Belgian luxury chocolatier Godiva to stop selling its dark chocolate soft ice cream. This decision came after a sample was found to have a total bacterial count that was 46 times above the legal limit. The Centre for Food Safety said on Thursday that the sample collected from the shop at Cityplaza in Tai Koo had 2.3 million bacteria per gram – the legal limit is 50,000. 'The centre has informed the vendor involved of the irregularity and instructed it to stop selling and immediately dispose of the affected product,' a spokesman said. 'Prosecution will be instituted should there be sufficient evidence.'
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong orders Godiva to halt dark chocolate ice cream sales over high bacteria count
Hong Kong authorities have ordered a branch of Belgian luxury chocolatier Godiva to halt the sale of its dark chocolate soft ice cream after a sample was found to contain a total bacterial count 46 times above the legal limit. Advertisement The Centre for Food Safety said on Thursday that the sample collected from the shop at Cityplaza in Tai Koo had 2.3 million bacteria per gram – 46 times higher than the legal limit of 50,000. 'The centre has informed the vendor involved of the irregularity and instructed it to stop selling and immediately dispose of the affected product,' a spokesman said. 'Prosecution will be instituted should there be sufficient evidence.' Under the Frozen Confections Regulation, those convicted of selling frozen confections with bacterial levels exceeding the legal limit face a maximum penalty of a fine of HK$10,000 (US$1,273) and three months' imprisonment. The spokesman said the centre had asked Godiva to carry out a thorough cleaning and disinfection. Advertisement He added that the centre had also provided health education on food safety and hygiene to the vendor's representative and staff.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong woman opens up about life after moment her heart stopped beating
More than a decade ago, Hongkonger Olivia Cheung Lok-man's heart stopped beating for 63 minutes. She was a 19-year-old student at the time and had suffered a fulminant myocarditis attack, a rare and severe illness that can cause heart failure. Cheung, now a 30-year-old art teacher, has since developed the ability to cope with the uncertainties surrounding her condition, thanks to the special care of the medical team at Queen Mary Hospital's intensive care unit (ICU). 'I have experienced [near death], I don't think there's anything [my family and I] can't deal with,' she said. Cheung and her doctor spoke to the media on Monday as part of the hospital's work with the Shaw Foundation to offer in-person and online activities to educate the public about intensive care treatments and patients' experiences. Last year, lawmakers passed a legislative amendment that allows terminally ill patients to reject certain treatments, such as undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), as the end of their life nears.
