Mainland Medics Start Work At Covid Treatment Centre

The Hospital Authority (HA) said on Monday that it hopes the community treatment centre for Covid-19 patients at AsiaWorld-Expo can operate at full capacity in the coming week or two, as mainland medics who came to help out have started working there.

At present, around 250 patients have been admitted to the site and with the mainland personnel's help it will be able to accommodate 450.

Larry Lee, a chief manager of HA, said the mainland staff are trying to get used to how Hong Kong’s medical system works.

He said some doctors can do ward rounds alone, but they have to get local practitioners’ advice before prescribing medication, and they also input patients’ records mainly in Chinese – which is different from the practice of local public hospitals.

“Of course in the beginning, I have assigned some of our Hong Kong doctors to help them regarding the computer systems, or maybe in the prescription habits, but I think that can be faded out in the later stage once they are getting more and more familiar with the systems,” he said.

Regarding working hours, Lee said mainland personnel work four-hour shifts while locals work for eight to nine hours a day, but both spend similar time taking care of patients.

He explained that local staff have to work longer hours because they have to help out with administrative work, such as reading patients’ reports, coordinating the admission and discharge of patients, and communicating with different government departments.

Lee said the hours of mainland medics may be adjusted later.

He doesn’t rule out negotiation on adjusting mainland medics’ working hours, but the prerequisite is that both sides are comfortable with this.

“We do the same thing, we care for the same patients, and we all serve in one heart to help Hong Kong fight this battle,” he said.