Suspended ENT department at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital to resume after June
Hospital Authority chief sees ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ regarding staff shortage, hopes operations can resume as soon as next quarter
The Hong Kong Children’s Hospital will gradually resume services at its recently suspended ear, nose and throat (ENT) department by the second half of this year, or as soon as the next quarter “if possible”, a health official has said.
Tony Ko Pat-sing, the Hospital Authority’s chief executive, said there was “light at the end of the tunnel” as the labour crunch behind the department’s suspension had eased.
The suspension of ENT services at the facility in Kowloon City meant more than 500 patients had needed to be transferred to other public hospitals.
“The ear, nose and throat field itself is not a very large specialty in general hospitals – a networked ENT department usually has about 10 or so colleagues. And at the Children’s Hospital, because they specialise in [treating] children, the number is even smaller,” Ko explained.
“We have recently seen light at the end of the tunnel as the turnover of doctors has stabilised.”
He said paediatric otolaryngology was a highly specialised field, and doctors trained overseas were also being encouraged to come to Hong Kong to help ease the staffing crunch.