Public-sector doctors are asking for a three- day paternity leave to bolster low staff morale.
"There simply aren't enough hours in a day for me to fulfill my work and family roles," said Queen Mary Hospital doctor of international medicine Pierre Chan.
During a week of 30-hour shifts and regular 12-hour work days, he has only been able to spend an hour and a half with his one-year- old daughter each time they have met.
"Our family is socially and psychologically unhealthy," said Chan's wife and family doctor Eunice Chan Yin-chiu.
When she was seven months' pregnant she quit the public sector fearing job-related stress would affect her pregnancy.
Although her husband stayed in the public sector, she accepted a pay cut to enter the private sector to have more time with their child.
According to surgeon Kelvin Ng Kwok- chai, Chan's departure to the private sector is a familiar story as more doctors are switching over to get better hours and a more balanced work life.
"The problem is some doctors are also fathers, and they have to play their family roles as parents - of course they do their best to serve patients but they don't have time to take care of their family life," Hong Kong Public Doctors' Association vice president Ho Pak- leung said.
With colleagues working more than 70 hours a week or 33 hours more than their contract stipulates, Ho said introducing paternity leave would not only help doctors balance work and home life but also be an important olive branch and first step in upcoming negotiations between public-sector doctors and the Hospital Authority.
He said unless services are redefined and a hybrid public/private solution found, manpower shortages will continue to wreak havoc on job satisfaction and morale among public sector health-care workers.
"Wives need the support and care of their husbands," Federation of Trade Union lawmaker Wong Kwok-hing said during an FTU and Men's Concern Group march in Central yesterday - Fathers' Day.
He said offering leave to fathers would improve workplace morale and help divide child- rearing responsibilities between parents.
An authority spokeswoman said it will consider initiatives to boost morale.
Standard Chartered, HSBC and Lehman Brothers offer five days' paternity leave, while China Light and Gas offers three. Australia and New Zealand offer unpaid paternity leave to workers, and two weeks of paid leave is provided in Britain and France through social insurance.
