Hong Kong’s public hospitals recorded up to a 15 per cent year-on-year decline in the number of patients seeking emergency treatment during the first three days of the Lunar New Year holiday, following fee adjustments introduced at the start of the year. The decline was revealed on Friday by Dr Axel Siu Yuet-chung, chairman of…
Hong Kong introduced a public hospital fee overhaul at the start of the year in response to long-standing pressures from an ageing population, rising chronic diseases and growing expenditure. Early data from the Hospital Authority suggests the fee increases are having an effect. From January 1-18, semi-urgent and non-urgent cases at accident and emergency (A&E)…
More private hospitals in Hong Kong are expected to join the government’s free newborn screening programme for rare genetic conditions this year, according to health authorities. The scheme tests newborns for inherited metabolic disorders, enabling early identification and treatment while easing the long-term burden on the public healthcare system. The programme, launched in 2020, already…
Four people injured in Hong Kong’s deadly Tai Po fire remain in hospital in stable condition, while 75 others have been discharged as of Thursday, according to health authorities. A government spokesman said that healthcare staff would continue to provide appropriate treatment and care to the patients from the Wang Fuk Court fire, which claimed…
A government-subsidised screening and treatment programme set to launch next month is expected to identify about 23,000 hidden cases of chronic hepatitis B in Hong Kong, as part of a bigger plan to eliminate the public health threat within five years. Health authorities said on Monday that the “Hepatitis B Co-care Scheme” would cover people…
Hong Kong is approaching the winter flu season, but vaccination rates among most age groups remain below the 70 per cent threshold needed for herd immunity, a leading government medical adviser has warned. David Hui Shu-cheong, chairman of the government’s scientific committee on emerging and zoonotic diseases, on Saturday reminded the public to get vaccinated…
Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority has said it receives about 5,000 public medical fee waiver applications a day under a recent shake-up, with an average approval rate of around 85 per cent, following complaints from patients about complicated procedures. The authority released the numbers on Saturday, which showed that the approval rate for fee reductions at…
Visits to accident and emergency (A&E) departments at Hong Kong’s public hospitals have dropped by nearly 12 per cent since a new pricing regime took effect, while the number of people benefiting from fee waivers has tripled. The Hospital Authority said on Friday that in the first week after the new fees regime was implemented…
Hong Kong security guard Yau has been caught in a protracted cycle of back-and-forth communications with social workers ever since she applied for a medical fee waiver early last November. The 63-year-old, who only gave her surname, shared her frustrations with the Post as she sought financial assistance amid a new fee regime in public…
About 85 per cent of those injured in the deadly Tai Po fire in Hong Kong have been discharged, while the rest are in a stable condition, according to health authorities. The Health Bureau also said on Wednesday that 63 affected residents received free family doctor consultations, 18 received free denture replacements in private dental…