The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) Chairman, Professor John Leong, today (November 1) announced the appointment of Dr Tony Ko as the Chief Executive of the Authority with effect from August 1, 2019 for a term of three years, succeeding Dr Leung Pak-yin.
Dr Ko's appointment has been endorsed by the HA Board and approved by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, after several rounds of global searching and a thorough deliberation by the Selection Board chaired by the HA Chairman and appointed by the HA Board.
In making the announcement today, Professor Leong said, "With the unfailing support of all HA staff members, Dr Ko will be able to take the HA to new heights on the solid foundation built under the leadership of Dr Leung Pak-yin.
"The HA Board is confident that Dr Ko's wealth of experience, both in the clinical and management arenas, as well his as proven leadership and management capability, will continue to lead the HA to serve the community with quality services and achieve our vision of 'Healthy People, Happy Staff, Trusted by the Community'. Dr Ko demonstrates clear vision and passion for HA's future development with a solid grasp of the key challenges facing the organisation as well as in-depth knowledge of hospital operations," Professor Leong added.
In accepting the appointment, Dr Ko said that he was honoured to be appointed to lead a dedicated and professional team of staff in the HA. "With the pool of experienced and committed staff in the HA, the staunch support from the Government and the HA Board, and the close collaboration with the healthcare sector and community partners, I am confident that the HA will be able to attain a higher level of achievement."
Adding that he would not underestimate the challenges ahead for the HA, Dr Ko said, "Amid the rapidly ageing population and escalating service demand, we will need to keep recruiting more healthcare staff, as well as redeveloping and expanding our hospitals to improve the facilities and augment service capacity."
Dr Leung said that Dr Ko has proven his outstanding leadership and rapport with frontline colleagues while serving as the Cluster Chief Executive at New Territories West. "In his current role as Director of Cluster Services, Dr Ko also demonstrated his excellent skills in the prudent deployment of public resources while addressing the needs of different stakeholders."
Dr Ko is a physician by background and is currently the Director of Cluster Services at the HA Head Office. Prior to his current role, he served as the Cluster Chief Executive of New Territories West for three years and a number of senior executive positions in the Head Office, including Chief Manager (Strategy, Service Planning and Knowledge Management) and Chief Manager (Patient Safety and Risk Management). In his current role as Director (Cluster Services), he is in charge of cluster performance, clinical grade management (manpower, career progression and training), public-private partnership, pharmaceutical services, development and management of integrated care programmes such as cancer and clinical oncology, diabetes, renal, stroke and mental health.
Dr Leung will continue to perform his duty in the HA until the end of July 2019 upon completion of his current contract. Professor Leong extended his appreciation to Dr Leung for his dedication and the great job he has accomplished as the Chief Executive in the past years, and said he looked forward to his continuing contribution in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition.
