The Hospital Authority plans to upgrade remuneration packages for contract doctors in April, narrowing pay disparities and enhancing job security.

Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow told the Legislative Council today the move will give deserving doctors an annual salary point increment from the beginning of their fourth year of service.

One salary point increment will be awarded to doctors who have successfully passed the intermediate examination for their specialist qualification and two salary points increment for the exit examination.

Contract resident doctors with good performance will be retained for nine years so they can pursue their specialist training and gain more experience after attaining their specialist qualification.

For doctors who have successfully secured the resident specialist posts, longer-term employment will be offered subject to service needs and financial constraints.

The authority hopes the measures can offer frontline doctors more motivation and retain high-caliber doctors within the public medical sector.

Working hours reduced

Dr Chow said the average weekly working hours of frontline doctors has improved considerably in the past five years. Hours of doctors in all specialties, except those in pathology, fell 2.2% to 23.2%.

The frequency of on-call duties by frontline doctors also improved. Doctors in the majority of specialties were arranged to serve on-call duties once every four to seven or eight days last year. The figure for 2000 was four to five days.

In response to the situation where some doctors work over 70 hours a week, Dr Chow said a number of initiatives have been planned to cut their working hours within three years with the target of keeping work to under 65 hours a week.

From April to December last year, the authority recruited 297 new resident doctors while 240 doctors departed. In 2003-05, the numbers of new resident doctors recruited each year were 312 and 297 while 252 and 298 doctors departed.