LCQ7: Specialist out-patient services of Hospital Authority
***********************************************************
Question:
Regarding the specialist out-patient (SOP) services of the Hospital Authority (HA), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective numbers of new cases of various SOP services in each of the past three financial years;
(2) given that new referral cases will be first screened by nurses and then reviewed by doctors of the relevant specialties for the purpose of classifying them into urgent, semi-urgent and stable cases, whether the Government knows the respective median waiting time of each classification of new cases of various SOP services, in each of the past three financial years;
(3) whether it knows the HA's new measures to shorten the waiting time of new cases of the SOP services; and
(4) whether it knows if the HA has assessed the extent to which SOP services has been affected by the epidemic, and the HA's new measures to mitigate the impacts?
Reply:
President,
In consultation with the Hospital Authority (HA), my reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Chan Kin-por is as follows:
(1) and (2) The tables below set out the number of specialist out-patient (SOP) new cases triaged as Priority 1 (urgent), Priority 2 (semi-urgent) and Routine (stable) cases, as well as their respective median (50th percentile) waiting time in the HA in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21.
2018-19
| Specialty | Priority 1 | Priority 2 | Routine | |||
| Number of new cases | Median waiting time (week) | Number of new cases | Median waiting time (week) | Number of new cases | Median waiting time (week) | |
| Ear, Nose and Throat |
15 274 | <1 | 18 699 | 5 | 64 846 | 55 |
| Medicine | 12 993 | 1 | 26 553 | 5 | 102 033 | 69 |
| Gynaecology | 9 611 | <1 | 8 555 | 5 | 43 232 | 34 |
| Ophthalmology | 46 498 | <1 | 22 120 | 4 | 74 312 | 68 |
| Orthopaedics and Traumatology | 17 614 | <1 | 16 378 | 5 | 77 992 | 71 |
| Paediatrics | 5 267 | <1 | 5 279 | 4 | 15 136 | 14 |
| Psychiatry | 2 694 | 1 | 8 859 | 4 | 34 684 | 30 |
| Surgery | 15 196 | 1 | 31 404 | 6 | 129 031 | 38 |
2019-20
| Specialty | Priority 1 | Priority 2 | Routine | |||
| Number of new cases | Median waiting time (week) | Number of new cases | Median waiting time (week) | Number of new cases | Median waiting time (week) | |
| Ear, Nose and Throat |
15 608 | <1 | 18 234 | 5 | 58 013 | 60 |
| Medicine | 11 887 | 1 | 25 774 | 5 | 97 638 | 74 |
| Gynaecology | 8 821 | <1 | 7 800 | 5 | 40 612 | 35 |
| Ophthalmology | 43 048 | <1 | 20 543 | 4 | 66 343 | 62 |
| Orthopaedics and Traumatology | 16 336 | <1 | 14 694 | 5 | 74 803 | 58 |
| Paediatrics | 4 968 | <1 | 4 929 | 4 | 14 741 | 16 |
| Psychiatry | 2 761 | 1 | 8 523 | 3 | 31 978 | 27 |
| Surgery | 13 484 | 1 | 29 619 | 6 | 122 331 | 40 |
2020-21
| Specialty | Priority 1 | Priority 2 | Routine | |||
| Number of new cases | Median waiting time (week) | Number of new cases | Median waiting time (week) | Number of new cases | Median waiting time (week) | |
| Ear, Nose and Throat |
14 076 | <1 | 17 533 | 5 | 62 086 | 60 |
| Medicine | 11 406 | <1 | 25 282 | 6 | 107 213 | 68 |
| Gynaecology | 8 293 | <1 | 7 378 | 5 | 40 297 | 35 |
| Ophthalmology | 42 028 | <1 | 23 755 | 3 | 59 246 | 55 |
| Orthopaedics and Traumatology | 15 131 | <1 | 13 670 | 4 | 72 894 | 57 |
| Paediatrics | 3 812 | <1 | 4 092 | 4 | 11 938 | 11 |
| Psychiatry | 3 377 | 1 | 10 637 | 3 | 33 411 | 27 |
| Surgery | 15 089 | 1 | 31 959 | 6 | 125 815 | 41 |
(3) In managing the waiting time for SOP services, the HA has implemented a series of measures including triage and service prioritisation, enhancing public primary care services, strengthening manpower, optimising the scheduling of appointments, as well as displaying information of the latest waiting time on the HA's website and at the SOP Clinics (SOPCs) to help patients to consider their treatment plans and options. Moreover, additional public-private partnership programmes have been implemented and the Integrated Model of SOP Services was introduced. The HA will review the effectiveness of these measures in a timely manner and implement supplementary measures as appropriate and necessary to further shorten the SOPC waiting time. In 2021-22, the HA will continue to implement the Annual Plan to enhance the service capacity of the SOPCs in various hospital clusters, covering the majority of major specialties.
(4) During different stages of the epidemic, the HA made timely adjustments to non-emergency and non-essential medical services, including certain SOP services, so as to focus manpower on providing care for the most critical patients and responding to the epidemic situation. Since mid-February 2021, certain non-emergency services have progressively been resumed in public hospitals under safe and practicable circumstances. In mid-March, the HA's out-patient services largely returned to the level of the same period in 2019 (i.e. before the epidemic).
The HA adopts different modes of service where practicable, including piloting the use of telehealth consultations, to provide the SOP services for suitable patients. In addition, during service resumption, consideration was given to increasing the manpower and service sessions of the SOPCs through the Special Honorarium Scheme having regard to the operation of the SOPCs in order to render optimal services to patients.
In light of the development of the epidemic situation as well as the actual environment and operational needs of hospitals, the HA will continue to closely monitor the utilisation of anti-epidemic equipment and facilities, and flexibly adjust hospital services and deploy manpower with a view to minimising the impact on patients.
Ends/Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Issued at HKT 15:32
Issued at HKT 15:32
NNNN