Like Tree30Likes

HA to more than double A&E charges

Closed Thread
Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3
  1. #21

    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Sarcasm - because beating the crap out of people is illegal
    Posts
    14,622
    Quote Originally Posted by JAherbert:
    It is the clinic quota system I reckon, clinics will treat a fixed number of people, just look at the queues outside, if you pass a government clinic, say in Sai kung and Sham Shui Po you see lots of elderly people queuing very early, they bring stools and chairs to queue up.

    If the quota is used, tough luck, try to find a clinic with spare quota, or try again tomorrow. (there must be some risk forcing people to travel to different district when there are sick).

    I believe (but i might be wrong) people dont want to go to A&E because it is more expensive than the clinic, but where clinic fixed quota is already saturated, they have little choice.

    Denied at clinic, and private doctor costs twice as much as A&E visit, A&E visit is the next least expensive option. If they increased the quota (and funded it appropriately) abuse of A&E would drop dramatically my 2 cents.
    Agree but then there is the issue of how to increase the quota. This is becoming more of an issue as the Government is so keen to increase population levels and the ensuing increased demand on the public health system.

    This would require additional doctors, nurse, support staff, and more facilities. The government can always build extra facilities (if it really wanted to). But it's getting doctors to work in the less lucrative public sector that could be an issue. One answer is to lessen the barriers to foreign doctors. There are plenty for whom working in Hong Kong's public health system would be a great opportunity. However, then there is the language barrier, along with the Medical Council's objections.

    I wonder how much local universities can increase their intakes by. This is something the Government should push for, although it should have done this decades ago.

  2. #22

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    6,714
    Original Post Deleted
    How often do you go to A&E?

    I think I have been twice in 10 years, once was when I broke my hand, the other when the bleeding was bad enough I could not stitch it myself.

  3. #23

    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    3,988
    Quote Originally Posted by Claire ex-ax:
    Agree but then there is the issue of how to increase the quota. This is becoming more of an issue as the Government is so keen to increase population levels and the ensuing increased demand on the public health system.

    This would require additional doctors, nurse, support staff, and more facilities. The government can always build extra facilities (if it really wanted to). But it's getting doctors to work in the less lucrative public sector that could be an issue. One answer is to lessen the barriers to foreign doctors. There are plenty for whom working in Hong Kong's public health system would be a great opportunity. However, then there is the language barrier, along with the Medical Council's objections.

    I wonder how much local universities can increase their intakes by. This is something the Government should push for, although it should have done this decades ago.
    they know the numbers, they set the quota and log attendance, and publish it:
    General Out-patient Clinic average number of quota for the preceding 4 weeks

    the billions for building a that (pointless) mega mall at the airport, could be better spent improving the existing quota system. IF (that is big if) they expanded the system, then I guess private doctors would hit the streets protesting against it - increasing quota is stealing their rice bowl.

    Pouring concrete for new infrastructure projects is not an obstacle for HK govt. they built the new north district hospital, however it is only used as 9-5 clinic at the moment, none of the wards/beds were used when it opened, I guess they dont not think to plan ahead.
    TheBrit likes this.

  4. #24

    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    3,988

    increasing A&E fees did not help, no surprise

    Hike in A&E fees fails to cut waiting times - RTHK


  5. #25

    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Ex Sai Kunger Sunny Qld for now
    Posts
    8,318
    Original Post Deleted
    I have to disagree there, the service is bog stock at best and the time it takes to see medical help is unbelievably slow.. Fact if you care to accept it, or not.. Having used it occasionally over the past 2 decades, that's my view...

    Now by contrast...
    My youngest cut his finger with a very sharp kitchen knife about a month ago, I rushed him to our local hospital which is about 5 minutes drive from our home.. Parked in the free carpark right near the hospital entrance, walked into emergency, gave them our Medicare card, they gave young bloke some liquid pain killer, then saw a doctor with 15 minutes and his wound was patched up and dressed all done and we were back home within the hour! Cost? Zero as Medicare covered the whole thing..(Australia)

    Now this might have been a lucky Sunday evening, as I'm sure Friday or Saturday night quite possibly would have been more hectic, but our experience so far has smashed our usually crap 2 to 3 hour wait at TKO,Hong Kong public hospital experience...

    HK seems to have its priorities all wrong, akin to communist countries during the cold war with very wasteful vanity projects at the expense of the common good of its lower socio economic residents, or what I call, poverty porn for rich people.
    Plutark likes this.

  6. #26

    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    猴山
    Posts
    23,652
    Quote Originally Posted by Skyhook:
    I have to disagree there, the service is bog stock at best and the time it takes to see medical help is unbelievably slow.. Fact if you care to accept it, or not.. Having used it occasionally over the past 2 decades, that's my view....
    Having used A&E twice when quite poorly it can be incredibly fast.

    The only way to limit the use of a free or near free at the point is to have waiting times for non-urgent cases.
    HK_Katherine and shri like this.

  7. #27

    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Ex Sai Kunger Sunny Qld for now
    Posts
    8,318

    I agree to a certain extent about limiting non ergent cases. But what I think really needs to be done, more than anything, is for the government to educate the public.... that it is wrong to tie up the A and E department with non emergency cases.


    Maybe they could start early with school age children how wrong it is, with a media campaign to bolster it, or are Hong kongers too set in their ways to change and the only (sad) thing left is to charge them more in the hip pocket?

    Another idea would be to hit folks who have a combined income of say, 600,000hkd per year with mandatory private health cover, thus focusing free public health made only available to lower income demographics. That would take a measurable load off the system, I reckon..


  8. #28

    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    3,988

    non-emergency cases have three choices

    1) private doctor - quality is potluck, considered expensive?
    2) public clinics - not many, limit the number of people because they have a quota system, some doctors refer you to their private practice
    3) A&E

    agree with skyhook, better education is needed, but also improving the public clinic system

    if a doctor refers you to the eye hospital, a non-urgent case is 62 weeks for an appointment (Oct. 2018).

    while pan dems piss around in LegCO hospitals already have overloaded wards with beds jammed in, even in the corridor.

    Skyhook likes this.

  9. #29

    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    猴山
    Posts
    23,652
    Quote Originally Posted by JAherbert:
    while pan dems piss around in LegCO hospitals already have overloaded wards with beds jammed in, even in the corridor.
    Pan Dems do ask quite a few questions in the various sub-committees and probe the government on health and social provision. Unfortunately they have pretty much lost any power to stall and delay and bad laws being drafted and the mainstream press don't report the likes of Fernando Cheung asking pointed questions and then being ignored by the executive branch.