The legislative assembly has passed a government-initiated bill specifically for the soon-to-open Islands Healthcare Complex in Cotai.
The new law states that employment of staff at the public-private partnership hospital will be governed by the city’s labour laws for the private sector – not by the government’s employment system, the Macau Post Daily reported. This is to increase flexibility around hiring highly qualified medical professionals.
The law comes into effect on 1 October.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao, who will oversee the hospital’s operations, said the government will hire 400 healthcare professionals for the Islands hospital’s initial phase of operation. She stated that although the local government would prioritise hiring locals, the city’s talent shortage meant a significant number of non-resident hires would be likely.
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Ao said that 50 physicians, including leading specialists and top administrators, would relocate from Beijing’s Peking Union Medical College Hospital to Macao. The Peking Union Medical College Hospital will be responsible for managing the Islands Healthcare Complex.
The new law stipulates that the Islands hospital will have its own system governing staff recruitment and other processes around human resources – exempt from the city’s usual legal requirements governing the employment of public employees.
Ao also has shared that the hospital will include 25 operating rooms, a big increase on the eight currently at the Conde de S Januário Hospital. The first phase of the Islands hospital includes 850 beds for patients, while the second phase – its rehabilitation facility – will have 300 beds.
The new hospital, located at the end of the Cotai strip, is set to open its doors in December.
Under an agreement signed in February, its main decision-making body will be a strategic development committee from the Peking Union Medical College Hospital – made up of eight members chosen by the chief executive.
The agreement lays out a long-term plan of cooperation between the local government and the Peking Union Medical College Hospital in fields such as healthcare, medical education and scientific research.
