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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) Board discussed and endorsed at the Administrative and Operational Meeting today (April 26) the suspension of obstetric service booking by non-local pregnant women in 2013 and the revision of Non-Eligible Person (NEP) obstetric package charge for non-booked cases. The latter will be proposed to the Government for consideration for gazettal.
HA Board Members were briefed and updated on the latest obstetric service demand situation in 2012, noting that there will be around 40,000 projected deliveries by eligible persons (EP), an increase of more than 14 percent over 2011. At the same time, public hospitals will cease to accept booking for delivery by non-locals with expected confinement dates in 2012 from today as the obstetric service capacity for NEPs has been filled for the rest of 2012.
The HA spokesman said, "according to the projection by the Census and Statistics Department, the increase of births by local mothers will continue, with a current projection of around 41,000 births in 2013.กจ
"While taking into consideration the estimation of around 2,000 non-booked cases of emergency deliveries, the projected total number of deliveries in public hospitals next year will be around 43,000."
With a focus to ensure the provision of priority and quality obstetric and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) services for local pregnant women, HA will not accept booking from NEPs in 2013 so as to preserve all obstetric and NICU capacity to meet the demand of EPs.
At the same time, to complement the stepped-up border control and law enforcement by the Government, the spokesman said a revision of obstetric package charge for non-booked NEP cases is proposed with a view to deterring the undesirable and high-risk behaviour of seeking last-minute hospital admission before delivery through the Accident and Emergency Departments (AEDs).
"The increase charge will remove the incentive for NEPs to obtain the Confirmation Certificate with a private hospital booking while seeking admission via public hospital AEDs to take advantage of the difference in charges. Having considered the relevant factors, including inter alia, complexity and intensity of care for non-booked cases; price comparability with private market; and the affordability factor, the NEP obstetric package charge for non-booked cases is proposed to increase from $48,000 to $90,000."
The spokesman pointed out that the proposed fee level is considered reasonable and appropriate to achieve the objective of deterring the dangerous behaviour of delivery through last-minute admission, and ensuring safety of mothers and babies. The proposed fee will be submitted to the Government for consideration and, if approved, will be gazetted for implementation next month (May).
Ends/Thursday, April 26, 2012
Issued at HKT 20:20
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