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Public healthcare is still in short supply by 2040. Why does Kowloon East remain weak over the years?

2022-03-01T04:48:27.233Z


The fifth wave of the epidemic is severe, public hospitals are overwhelmed, and a large number of patients are waiting to be admitted to the hospital in the cold wind.


The fifth wave of the epidemic is severe, public hospitals are overwhelmed, and a large number of patients are waiting to be admitted to the hospital in the cold wind. .


"01 Research Institute" organizes public data to show the distribution of medical staff and funding, and the gap between future staffing needs.

In addition, there is a network with a large population of elderly people, but manpower and resources have been in short supply for a long time. What is the reason?


There is a chronic shortage of medical staff in Hong Kong. According to statistics from the Food and Health Bureau, there will be about two registered doctors per 1,000 population in Hong Kong in 2020, which is far below the average of about 3.5 among OECD members; there are 8.2 nurses per 1,000 population in Hong Kong. It is also about 1 less than the OECD average of 9.2.

However, the problem is the uneven distribution of public and private manpower. Taking doctors as an example, there are currently about 150,000 registered doctors in Hong Kong, of which about 40%, or about 6,500, serve in public hospitals, but they have to take care of nearly 90,000 doctors in Hong Kong. into a patient.

In 2018, the authorities estimated that the ratio of public and private doctors to patients was 0.9:1000 and 4.5:1000, respectively. In recent years, the number of medical staff in public hospitals has intensified, and the situation may continue to deteriorate.

Chronic medical staff shortage still unresolved after two decades

Faced with an aging population, the gap between supply and demand of medical staff will further widen in the future.

According to the latest medical manpower projections published by the Food and Health Bureau last year, there will be a shortage of about 1,070 full-time doctors in Hong Kong in 2020, which will nearly increase to 1,949 by 2040; the shortage of nurses will also increase from 3,405 in 2020 to 2040. 5,060 people, meaning the manpower shortage is expected to remain unresolved in 20 years.

đź”˝The ratio of manpower to the population served by different specialists in each networkđź”˝

Various online resources "great disparity between the rich and the poor"

At present, there is a shortage of nearly 660 doctors in public hospitals.

Comparing the existing manpower of each HA cluster (2020/21), Hong Kong Island West, where the leading teaching hospital Queen Mary Hospital is located, has the largest number of doctors in public hospitals, with about 1.3 public hospital doctors per 1,000 population; Kowloon East has the least number of doctors per 1,000 population. There are only about 0.7 doctors (refer to the map at the beginning of the article).

The Kowloon East Cluster covers nearly 1.2 million people in Kwun Tong and Sai Kung. Among them, Kwun Tong is densely populated and has many elderly people. However, only three hospitals in the entire cluster provide about 2,600 beds, and only United Hospital has an A&E department.

In Kowloon East, medical resources such as manpower, funding, and even hospital beds have been insufficient for a long time. Although the newly-built Kai Tak Acute Hospital under the "Ten-Year Hospital Development Plan" will share some of the medical needs of Kwun Tong District, it is expected that it will not be until 2025 at the earliest. Just completed, that is, patients in the area will have to wait at least three years.

The recent severe epidemic situation and the fact that a large number of patients are waiting to be admitted to the hospital in the open air have revealed the dilemma of the overburdened and chronically understaffed public medical system.

In fact, in recent years, the aging population has exacerbated the medical burden such as chronic diseases, and medical beds in Hong Kong have been full for a long time. Even before the epidemic, in 2019/20, except for the two clusters on Hong Kong Island, the occupancy rates of other clusters of internal medicine exceeded 100%.

Among them, the New Territories West Cluster, which covers Tuen Mun and Yuen Long, has more than 100% occupancy rates for many types of hospital beds.

Public medical resources are already tight, and manpower must be allocated to deal with the epidemic, which affects some non-emergency medical services, including specialist outpatient clinics.

Last year, the median waiting time for new medical cases in public hospitals was about 68 weeks. When the clusters with the longest waiting time included New Territories East, West, and Kowloon West, the median average exceeded 80 weeks, that is, one year. Half or more; but the fifth wave of the epidemic is not under control, and it may take more time for the HA's outpatient services to return to pre-epidemic levels.

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2022-03-01

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