The Hospital Authority’s outgoing chief executive has said Hong Kong public hospitals are on the right path in terms of finances, manpower and infrastructure, with his term as the organisation’s top man being a “complete and abundant” experience.

Dr Tony Ko Pat-sing, who will retire by the end of the month, described his past six years as a “joyful time” despite having to overcome challenges brought by anti-government protests and the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I feel reassured,” Ko said on Thursday. “I feel our financial resources are stable, manpower is fine, our infrastructure – system, software, hardware and hospitals expansion plan – I think all are in place.

“I view my six-year term as complete and abundant, and I feel joyful about it.”

Staff shortages are a long-standing issue in public hospitals, but Ko said that healthcare manpower grew by about 10 per cent compared with when he assumed office in 2019.

Currently, there are about 320 non-locally trained doctors from more than 10 jurisdictions working in the city’s public hospitals. More overseas-trained nurses have started to join, and the authority is planning to hire allied health professionals trained outside Hong Kong.