A&E attendances drop over over CNY after public hospital fee adjustment
發佈日期: 2026-02-20 20:04
TVB News
Public hospital fees have been adjusted since January 1st.
The Hospital Authority says that during the three-day Lunar New Year holiday, the number of patients attending accident and emergency or A&E departments fell by more than 10 percent year-on-year, describing the fee reform as meeting its target.
On the fourth day of the Chinese New Year, many private clinics had gradually resumed services.
However, A&E departments remained crowded.
Since January 1st, fees for non-urgent patients increased to 400 dollars.
At the A&E department of Eastern Hospital, waiting times at around noon reached about five hours -- and even eight to nine hours earlier in the morning.
Some say their family doctors haven't resumed work yet who would have been their first choice because they would take less time.
Speaking on a radio programme, Dr Axel Siu, chairman of the Hospital Authority's A&E coordinating committee, says attendances at A&E departments during the first three days of the Chinese New Year fell by 11 to 15 percent year-on-year.
He said the new charging system is delivering some results, stressing the policy objective is to focus resources on patients in greater need.
He reveals that between January 1st -- when the revised fees took effect -- and February 10th, the proportion of cases meeting the 30-minute service pledge rose from around 80 percent to roughly 87 percent.
The government expects A&E attendances may rise again over the coming days as more residents return to Hong Kong after the holiday.
