Undersecretary for Health Libby Lee Ha-yun will head the Hospital Authority as the new chief executive from August, steering reforms of the city’s public hospitals.

Authorities said on Wednesday that Lee, who previously served with the Hospital Authority’s senior management, would take over the new role after current chief executive Tony Ko Pat-sing stepped down when his term ends on July 31.

Cecilia Fan Yuen-man, currently a consultant in family medicine at the Department of Health, will succeed Lee as the new undersecretary for health. She will work alongside health minister Lo Chung-mau.

Lee had previously been with the public hospitals body before leaving in 2022 to join the Health Bureau.

Lee, an anaesthesiologist, first joined the executive team of the Hospital Authority in 2008, and rose up the ranks to become the body’s director of strategy and planning in 2016.

In her new role as chief executive, Lee will be expected to help address long-standing issues faced by public hospitals, such as medical manpower shortages and patient safety blunders.