‘Deficit will not affect first stage of Hong Kong hospital development push’

The government’s budget deficit will not affect the first of two 10-year development plans to upgrade Hong Kong’s healthcare infrastructure, but it is too early to know whether the second one will be affected, the outgoing head of the public hospital system has said.

Hospital Authority chief executive Tony Ko Pat-sing also said on Sunday that a penalty system to clamp down on medical blunders would not affect staff morale.

Ko, who earlier announced he would step down in July, said it was too soon to tell whether the government’s anticipated deficit of nearly HK$100 billion (US$12.9 billion) would affect the city’s second such 10-year plan.

“The [first scheme] is a very long-term plan, and the first phase is entering its second half, so the construction carried out will not be affected,” he said in a televised interview.

“We are in the midst of planning for the second phase, and the hospitals [in general] will be used for 40 to 80 years, so it will be too early to tell if the deficit has any impact on it.”

Ko also discussed plans to review a salary mechanism for healthcare workers, which includes a reward and penalty system, stressing the decision was unrelated to the deficit.