The name of Hong Kong Doctors Union is not new at all. In fact, it has been in existence for more than two years. Thanks to the support of our colleagues, the name is widely accepted in the medical profession. Now, in this precious moment of the fifth anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to her motherland, we are pleased to tell our profession that the Hong Kong Doctors Union takes one additional role in her duties to the profession – that is to defend the interests of the profession in providing good medical practice to the patients.
The Chinese name of the Hong Kong Doctors Union, after being registered under the Registry of Trade Unions, may be new to most of you. In fact, it signifies our determination to catch the global and local antennae of having our profession protected, instead of being exploited.
We are producing a “Patient and Doctor Partnership Pamphlet” or “Doctors’ Rights Pamphlet” and we hope that such move may reverse the attitude of some nasty patients towards our colleagues and we are confident that it will be accomplished soon.
The job of regulating relations between doctors and their employers has long been shouldered by sister associations like Hong Kong Public Doctors’ Association, Government Doctors Association, Hong Kong Public Hospitals, Department of Health and Universities Doctors Association and the budding Frontline Doctors Union, but they have nothing to do with those employed in private institutes and HMOs. The emergence of the Hong Kong Doctors Union as a Trade Union marks a cornerstone in the history of Hong Kong that even private doctors’ affairs would be covered in area of trade or employment dispute.
Nevertheless, our Trade Union will uphold the fine traditions of our Predecessors – Estate Doctors Association Limited and Hong Kong Doctors Union Limited – in promoting unity and harmony among doctors and to create an optimal environment for patient care.
With a change in policy of the Housing Authority on allocation of estate clinics, our functions will evolve from concentrating on the health services of the public estates to the health of the community as a whole. We would focus on upgrading our standard of medical care without any doubt. We would organize more members’ oriented functions in an attempt to cater for the needs of every member. Nevertheless, our strong relationship with the Housing Authority remains in promoting optimal health care to the residents of the public housing estates.
We advocate a total transparent and democratic community within our Union. In our community, there is no distinction between public and private doctors, no distinction between doctors graduated locally and in foreign areas, between doctors graduated in the University of Hong Kong or the Chinese University of Hong Kong and no distinction between fully registered doctors or doctors under limited registration. Every member is equal and respects each other as brother and sister. And only with this brotherhood and spirit can our Union survive.
We have strong ties with the Hong Kong Medical Association from where our predecessors come. We have witnessed the inaugural ceremony of the Chinese Medical Doctors Association, which functions as a Trade Union as part of her main objectives, in Beijing early this year. Working on issues of mutual interest, we hope that our bonding with other sister associations, namely, the Association of Licentiates of Medical Council of Hong Kong, Practising Estate Doctors’ Association Ltd, Hong Kong Public Doctors’ Association, Government Doctors Association, Association of Private Medical Specialists, Association of Medical Practitioners of Societies' Clinics, Hong Kong Public Hospitals, Department of Health and Universities Doctors Association, Frontline Doctors Union, etc. will become stronger and stronger in the future.
In the present poor economic climate, we have to share the hardship of the community and the Government. To tackle the serious problem of imbalance of public and private medical services, apart from pointing out faults in the health care delivery system to the authority, we believe that solutions will only arise through thoughtful discussions and measures which are acceptable to all parties, namely, doctors, patients and the government. I hope that such difficult times will pass away soon with the up turn of the Hong Kong economy.
Dr. Yeung Chiu Fat Henry
Hong Kong Doctors Union (HKDU)並不是一個新的名字，其實HKDU存在已兩年。感謝各同業的支持，HKDU(前稱香港西醫聯會)的名字已被廣泛接納。現在正值香港回歸祖國五週年之際，我們欣然地向醫學界宣佈，HKDU承諾擔當醫學界中新的角色 - 即是保障醫生於提供良好醫療服務中的權益。
在職工會登記局登記的HKDU中文名字 — 香港西醫工會 — 可能對很多人來說是比較陌生。其實她代表著我們的決心，追上本地及全球的潮流，去保護醫生，致不會被欺負。
我們快將出版「病人與醫生約章小冊子」或「醫生權益小冊子」，我們寄望這個行動可以倒轉一些惡毒病人對我們同業的態度。而我們有信心很快可以做到。
調解僱主與受僱醫生關係的工作，一向由醫學界其他姊妹醫生會擔當，例如香港公共醫療醫生協會、政府醫生協會、香港公立醫院協會、衞生署和大學醫生協會及剛成立的前線醫生聯盟。但她們並不能照顧受僱於私營機構或HMOs的醫生。香港西醫工會的成立，於香港歷史中建立了一個新的里程碑，即使私家醫生於商業上或受聘中的爭執也可以備受處理。
無論怎樣，我們的工會必會秉承前驅者 — 新邨西醫協會和香港西醫聯會 — 的優良傳統去促進醫生團結、和諧融洽和創造最佳照顧病人的環境。
自房屋署改變出租診所政策後，我會的功能便由專注公共屋邨居民醫療服務進展到包括整個香港社會的健康。無疑我們會集中於提昇醫療服務質素。我們將會務求照顧每個會員的需求，而安排更多以會員為中心的活動。不過我們仍然與房屋署及房委會維持緊密的關係，繼續攜手促進公共屋邨居民的健康。
在工會內，我們提倡一個高透明度及民主的社群。在這個大家庭裏，將不會分公家或私家醫生，本地或內地畢業的醫生，港大或中大畢業，註冊和有限度註冊的醫生。每個會員是平等，互相尊敬，情如手足。而且只有這手足關係與精神才能令我們的工會繼續生存及成長。
我們的先驅是來自香港醫學會，其與本會有非常密切的關係。於本年初，我們見證了中國醫師協會在北京的成立典禮，其創會目的之一是要以工會模式運作去為其會員服務。在同心協力去應付業界的問題時，我們希望與其他姊妹組織，如香港醫務委員會執照醫生協會、公共屋邨執業西醫協會、香港公共醫療醫生協會、政府醫生協會、香港私人執業專科醫生協會、社團診所醫生協會、香港公立醫院、衞生署和大學醫生協會及前線醫生聯盟的關係將來變得更密切。
現在正處於經濟低迷的時代，我們應該與社會和政府同甘共苦，共渡時艱。要認真地解決公私營醫療的嚴重失衡，除了指出現今醫療制度的弊處外，我們更應從病人、醫生及政府三方面的角度詳細去作討論，試圖找出各方面均可以接納的方案才是最佳辦法。我祝願隨著香港經濟的復甦，艱苦的日子亦快成過去。
楊超發醫生