【明報專訊】THE Audit Commission has revealed a ridiculous picture of service delays at North Lantau Hospital. More than a fifth of its floor area was still vacant and some medical services had not yet been commissioned even after four years of operation. Despite the proximity of this hospital to residents in northern Lantau Island, some of them still have to travel a long way to Princess Margaret Hospital for specialist services. But the story of North Lantau Hospital is just another concrete example showing the problem of a labour shortfall faced by public hospitals in Hong Kong. As long as the shortage of doctors persists, the sector can never provide services to the full scope of their capacity even if it has first-class hardware installed.