Holiday clinic service strengthened during Easter
*************************************************

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     A spokesperson of Hospital Authority (HA) today (March 22) said that the holiday general out-patient clinic (GOPC) service will be strengthened in the coming extended Easter holidays. On top of the stepped up measures for the winter surge to increase the GOPC quota by 2,000 per week, the 13 holiday clinics (see Annex) will add a total service quota of 1,700 to further augment the holiday service capacity by 30 per cent during the four-day Easter holidays (March 25 to 28). Members of the public are reminded to make advance booking through the telephone system as usual for an appointment.

     Accident and Emergency (A&E) Departments in public hospitals will also operate as usual during the holiday to serve patients with urgent medical needs. The Chairman of the HA Central Coordinating Committee (A&E), Dr Li Kai-ming, said that the daily attendance of A&E Departments has consistently exceeded 6,000 in the past month. Admission to medical wards via A&E Departments and occupancy rates of medical wards in public hospitals also remained at high levels. It is expected that service demand will likely surge towards the latter part of the extended holidays.

     "According to past experience, demand will increase during long holidays as well as the peak season of influenza. We expect a further surge as the temperature drops again in the coming few days," Dr Li said.

     "A&E Departments will issue special honorariums to enhance manpower during the holiday, alongside the established triage system to categorise patients according to their clinical conditions. The queuing time is expected to be longer for semi-urgent and non-urgent patients, especially towards the latter part of the holiday and the first working day after the Easter weekend. We appeal to the public for their understanding and cooperation while waiting for consultation," Dr Li said. Non-urgent patients should consider seeking consultation at GOPCs, private doctors or the 24-hour clinics of private hospitals.

     Information of holiday clinics in the district will be posted prominently in A&E Departments. Members of the public are welcome to call the following numbers and browse the websites for the required information:

1. HA Infoline 2882 4866;
2. Hong Kong Medical Association Medilink 90000-222-322;
3. Hong Kong Medical Association website www.hkma.org; and
4. Primary Care Directory of the Department of Health at www.pcdirectory.gov.hk or download the mobile app of "Primary Care Directory".

Ends/Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:52

NNNN