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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
A spokesperson of Hospital Authority today (February 4) appeals to public that people infected with minor disease can attend the holiday general out-patient clinics. To cope with the high service demand during the winter peak season of influenza, Hospital Authority will further enhance the holiday general out-patient clinic service. The 13 holiday general out-patient clinics (see appended list) will add a total of 1 500 service quota to augment the holiday service capacity by 35 per cent during the Chinese New Year Holiday (February 8 to 10). 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 the patients with urgent medical needs. The spokesperson said that Hong Kong has already entered the winter peak season of influenza, the daily attendance of A&E has consistently exceeded 6 000 since last week, which was higher than the non-peak daily attendance of 5 900.
"According to past experiences, demand will surge during long holidays, peak season of influenza and persistent cold weather. As the coming Chinese New Year holiday follows a weekend, demand for A&E service will likely surge, especially on the latter part of the holiday and the first working day following the holiday. We appeal to the public for their understanding and cooperation while waiting for consultations." The spokesperson added.
A&E doctors will follow the triage system to ensure timely treatment for patients with critical or emergency condition while semi-urgent or non-urgent patients might have to wait longer before receiving consultations. Non-urgent patients should consider attending the general out-patient clinic, private doctors or the 24-hour clinics of private hospitals for consultations. 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 to 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/Thursday, February 4, 2016
Issued at HKT 14:34
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