'Patients In Danger Due To Lack Of Nurses'

Health Secretary Sophia Chan was jeered by nurses at a protest on Sunday, as the head of a union warned that current staffing levels in public hospitals are putting patients in danger.

Around 200 nurses and hospital workers joined a demonstration outside the government's headquarters, accusing health authorities of failing to provide sufficient manpower to cope with the ongoing peak flu season.

Members of the Association of Hong Kong Nursing Staff said they are under intense pressure as occupancy rates at most public hospitals currently exceed 100 percent, and they warned the city's hospitals are like "battlefields".

Last week, the Hospital Authority announced a 10 percent boost to an overtime allowance. But the association's chairman, health services sector lawmaker Joseph Lee, said the situation in hospitals is "very bad" and these extra payments will do little to help.

"Ideally, as a standard, one nurse should have to take care of six patients. That would optimise the patients' health. But the current situation is that one nurse is tackling more than 10 patients. This kind of ratio is very unsatisfactory and patients are in danger right now," Lee said.

There was a frosty reception for Health Secretary Sophia Chan when she made an appearance at Sunday's demonstration.

She was booed by the crowd when she told them that she had asked the Hospital Authority to formulate long-term measures to cope with the manpower shortage.

Following the protest, the Hospital Authority issued a statement saying it is fully aware of the tremendous workload faced by frontline staff and it is committed to supporting them through every means possible.

It said to alleviate the workload during the winter flu surge, public hospitals have recruited about 800 part-time and temporary nurses.

The statement added that overall nursing numbers should increase by around 830 this year.