2016 Policy Address | Health: Gov’t accused of ‘stealing’ resources from private sector

Alexis Tam (center)

Some lawmakers have criticized the idea of expanding the public health care service given the lack of human resources available. The criticism came on the second day of Alexis Tam’s Policy Address presentation at the Legislative Assembly on Friday.
Fong Chi Keong was one of the most outspoken individuals, arguing against what he called “a measure [that could be] potentially catastrophic in the future.” The lawmaker accused the government of stealing human resources from the private sector.
Mr Fong suggested that approximately five hundred healthcare professionals have left the Kiang Wu hospital in the past few years, attracted by the salaries and benefits of the public sector.
“The private healthcare sector might not be able to offer the same conditions as those seen in the public hospital, but it has been addressing the population’s needs. The sector works hard. However, the public hospital has been taking away, even stealing, human resources from the private sector and plans to hire even more people,” he said.
The lawmaker reminded the secretary that there are at least eight legislators in the AL with connections to the administration of the Kiang Wu hospital.
Chan Meng Kam, also dissatisfied with the mass recruitment of healthcare professionals and wave of spending policies, argued that other regions such as Hong Kong and Taiwan have “achieved more with less.” He went on to explain that, “In Taiwan, there was a lower investment but a higher turnout. That happened because there was good control and management. Macau has a population with a lower rate of disease and a higher economic capacity. We need to take note of examples from neighboring regions and provide a high level of quality in the health sector.”
In response, Alexis Tam noted, “It’s true that we have had some constraints up until now, namely in the lack of human resources, qualified employees and legal matters. But it’s not enough to have the building done. We need to support our human resources and hire more workers. This will ultimately provide a better quality of service to the population.”

tourist synergies needed

Alexis Tam has said that in order to create a better dynamic for tourism, the creation of “synergy” between the different government departments is needed. According to the secretary, Macau “does not need to build anything else to attract the tourists, we already have it: it’s our heritage.” Mr Tam offered an example of such synergies in the form of the new project for developing the Taipa Houses Museum. This project will involve IACM, IC, and IFT, among other non-profitable associations. According to the Secretary, this is the secret to “attracting more tourists” to Macau for longer periods of time.