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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) Chairman, Professor John Leong, visited three public hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) Departments this afternoon (February 4) at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital and Kwong Wah Hospital to show support to front-line health-care staff and to understand the patient waiting time situation.
Professor Leong pointed out that there was a significant surge in A&E attendance in the first few days of the Chinese New Year holidays, resulting in heavy pressure for front-line staff and longer waiting time for semi-urgent and non-urgent patients. He appealed for public understanding of the situation.
As A&E Departments will usually be busier after long holidays, Professor Leong urged the public to avoid using A&E services and make use of General Out-patient Clinics (GOPCs), private clinics and outpatient services of private hospitals for minor illnesses. This will help A&E Departments to focus their manpower on critical, emergency and urgent patients.
The additional 1 500 GOPC quotas provided during the Chinese New Year holidays have been mostly utilised, showing that the alternative consultation option has helped alleviate the heavy demand for A&E services.
Before the Chinese New Year holidays, the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, and the HA Chief Executive, Dr Leung Pak-yin, also visited various A&E Departments to understand the front-line operations and thanked staff members for working over the long holidays to take care of patients in need.
Ends/Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Issued at HKT 18:56
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