163.         The recently completed North Lantau Hospital will come into operation in phases this year. The expansion of Tseung Kwan O Hospital and the phase two redevelopment of Caritas Medical Centre will also be completed in 2013 and 2014 respectively. To ensure that our hospital facilities can meet public needs, we are actively pursuing the construction of Tin Shui Wai Hospital; the expansion and redevelopment of United Christian Hospital, Kwong Wah Hospital and Queen Mary Hospital; and the construction of the new Centre of Excellence in Paediatrics. We will revisit the demand for medical facilities in Kowloon. If necessary, we will expedite the development of the reserved hospital site at the Kai Tak Development Area. Also, we plan to redevelop Kwai Chung Hospital so as to render more targeted care and support to mental patients.

164.         The HA is very concerned about the work pressure faced by its frontline healthcare workers. In view of the increasing workload and the tight manpower situation, the HA has implemented a series of improvement measures to help reduce staff wastage and retain talent. These include enhancing promotion prospects, hiring additional part-time doctors, providing special honorarium and on-call allowance, and strengthening support for blood testing services and other clerical duties. In the past year or so, the HA has added 294 associate consultants and hired 250 part-time doctors. It will continue to maintain close communication with frontline staff to examine feasible measures with a view to further reducing the wastage of healthcare workers, improving the working environment, boosting morale and enhancing services.

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