*****************************************

Following is a question by Dr the Hon Ho Chung-tai and a written reply by the Secretary for Health and Welfare, Dr E K Yeoh, in the Legislative Council today (November 15):

Question:

Regarding the accident and emergency ("A&E") services provided by public hospitals, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows :-

(a) the respective numbers of doctors working on day and night shifts at A&E departments of public hospitals at present, with a breakdown by their ranks, and whether there have been any changes to such manning scales over the past three years; if so, of the details;

(b) the existing arrangements and established procedure in public hospitals for junior doctors to seek immediate advice from senior doctors when encountering problems while on duty at A&E departments; and

(c) the special procedure in place for dealing with patients who have been discharged after receiving treatment at A&E departments but have returned for treatment on the same day because their condition deteriorates?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) The work shifts of doctors in Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments are staggered in such a way to match the peaks and troughs of patient attendances, irrespective of time of day. This is to ensure that there are sufficient number of doctors to attend to patients during peak hours, which range from 9am to noon, 1pm to 4pm and 8pm to 11pm.

The number of doctors deployed to the A&E department by each hospital may differ slightly from time to time, subject to seasonal and service requirements. At present, depending on the scale of operation of individual A&E departments, the maximum number of doctors on duty during peak hours ranges from six to 20, while the minimum number on duty during non-peak hours ranges from one to three. Details are at Annex. The total number of senior doctors on duty (i.e. Senior Medical Officers and above) ranges from zero to seven, depending on the workload of individual A&E departments. Where necessary, doctors in A&E departments can always obtain support and advice expeditiously from relevant senior doctors, including those from the inpatient departments.

Due to the scale of workload involved in compiling the data in 1998 and 1999, HA is not able to provide the information for these two years.

(b) All doctors working in A&E departments receive training in emergency medicine for handling all common conditions presented to the A&E departments. To assure the quality and standard of care in A&E departments, senior doctors will supervise junior doctors and conduct regular audits on the clinical management of admitted and discharged patients. Should junior doctors encounter problems while on duty, they can seek immediate advice from senior doctors.

(c) Doctors in A&E departments will pay special attention to all unscheduled patient re-attendances. The management of such patients will be audited and reviewed to ensure the quality of care delivered in A&E departments.

Annex

*****

Number of doctors on duty in Accident & Emergency Departments 



                                           Total number of

Hospital                                   doctors on duty



Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital      1 - 8



Caritas Medical Centre                     1 - 8




Kwong Wah Hospital                         2 - 15



North District Hospital                    2 - 8



Princess Margaret Hospital                 1 - 8


Prince of Wales Hospital                   2 - 14


Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital   2 - 10


Queen Elizabeth Hospital                   2 - 20


Queen Mary Hospital                        2 - 12


Tseung Kwan O Hospital*                    3 - 6


Tuen Mun Hospital                          3 - 12


Tang Shiu Kin Hospital                     1 - 8


United Christian Hospital                  3 - 12


Yan Chai Hospital                          2 - 8

* The operating hours of the A&E department of Tseung Kwan O Hospital is from 7am to 11pm

End/Wednesday, November 15, 2000

NNNN