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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) today (July 23) announced the resignation of Mr Shane Solomon as Chief Executive due to personal reasons.
HA Chairman Mr Anthony Wu said, "It is with much regret and reluctance that we accept Mr Solomon's resignation, but we respect his decision and the priority he needs to give to his family at this time. I am obviously very saddened by the departure of a true partner at work and a real friend in life.
"We have been working beautifully together as a team. Hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, we have fought many battles together. Shane's leadership, intellect, dedication, passion and commitment have my total admiration and appreciation," Mr Wu said.
Mr Solomon said it was not an easy decision to make. "After much consideration, I have decided to rejoin my family in Australia. It has been an honour to serve the people of Hong Kong. I am very grateful for the trust placed in me by the Government and the HA Board. I have been privileged to work with such an outstanding team. I am leaving with great confidence that under the leadership of my chairman, the senior executive team with my successor will have the ability and heart to keep taking the Hospital Authority forward to serve the community even better.
"I cannot find a better chairman to work with. His unwavering support, wisdom, guidance and encouragement have made my job a lot easier," Mr Solomon said.
Mr Solomon thanked frontline colleagues and friends at the Hospital Authority who made him feel so welcome in Hong Kong. "I will always treasure the experience of working with such committed professionals and friends.
"I am very grateful to the Government, in particular the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, and the Permanent Secretary for Food and Health (Health), Ms Sandra Lee, for their tremendous support and valuable advice over the years," added Mr Solomon.
Mr Solomon's tenure has been dedicated to continuous service improvement. His many achievements include the modernisation of equipment, IT systems and corporate management systems such as the Pay for Performance (P4P) funding system and leadership programmes. The quality of services to the people of Hong Kong has improved through the policy of open disclosure and continuous learning. This is recognised with the international accreditation of HA hospitals now underway.
The working conditions of frontline colleagues have been a major commitment of Mr Solomon. He has been working to improve staff morale through fairer salaries for young doctors, reducing doctors' working hours, increasing the number of nurses in training and improving nurse career opportunities.
Mr Solomon has reoriented the Hospital Authority to look outside the walls of its public hospitals. Under his leadership, programmes to keep people healthy and out of hospital have been introduced. The public-private partnership initiatives set a new direction for cooperation across the entire health system, and offer patients new choices.
Mr Wu said the position will be filled through an open recruitment exercise which will start immediately. The Chairman reassured the public that the Hospital Authority remains unified in its mission of serving the community.
Ends/Friday, July 23, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:31
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