Hong Kong should review A&E charges to prevent abuses, John Lee says, as authorities weigh upping service fees to combat budget deficit
- City leader says fee review important to bring down waiting times, days after finance chief lists raising government service charges as an option to tackle deficit
- ‘In the past, we saw a lot of people using A&E services when they did not need them. We will focus on preventing abuse of A&E services,’ he adds
“We will focus on preventing the abuse of A&E services … so the [waiting] times and service quality can be enhanced too.”
Higher Hong Kong public service fees won’t help to balance books, economists say
In the case of public hospital charges, the costs are reviewed every two years under an established mechanism. Accident and emergency attendance fees were last increased in 2017, going from HK$100 (US$12.8) to HK$180.
Those in the top category are typically treated immediately, while those in the next two receive care within 15 or 30 minutes. The three groups accounted for half of all patients visiting A&E units.
Those in the lower categories can expect to wait several hours.
The average waiting time for the lowest category of patients stood at 2 hours and 38 minutes as of March 31, 2023.
Those in the next group up wait 124 minutes on average before being treated.
Hong Kong may take ‘year or two’ extra to achieve budget surplus, Paul Chan says
Eight public hospitals recorded general waiting times of more than three hours as of Tuesday noon.
Some A&E patients heading to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital, Tin Shui Wai Hospital and Tuen Mun Hospital faced waits of more than eight hours.
Several lawmakers have also called for increases in public hospital service fees to prevent overcrowding at A&E rooms.
The budget for the 2023-24 financial year shows public services accounted for less than 4 per cent, or HK$21 billion, of the government’s estimated total revenue of HK$543 billion.
Economist earlier warned that raising services would do little to tackle the deficit, calling on authorities to focus on pursuing high-impact policies, such as improving the local business environment and increasing land premiums.
