Less-urgent visits to Hong Kong public hospitals’ A&Es down 21% after fee rise

2026-01-25 - 21:07

Less-urgent visits to accident and emergency (A&E) departments at Hong Kong’s public hospitals have decreased by over 21 per cent after a sweeping fee hike on January 1, according to the Hospital Authority (HA). Meanwhile, total A&E visits from January 1 to 18 fell by 14.6 per cent compared with the same period last year, the authority said in a statement on Tuesday. The emergency room in Prince of Wales Hospital. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. HA figures also showed that while critical and emergency visits increased, less-urgent visits decreased. Starting from January 1, A&E patients classified as urgent, semi-urgent or non-urgent – per the HA’s five-tier triage system – are charged HK$400, up from HK$180. Those categorised as critical or emergency will receive a waiver. Among 85,676 patients attending A&E at public hospitals from January 1 to 18, 4,889 were treated as critical or emergency cases – a 7.7 per cent increase compared with the same period last year. Meanwhile, urgent cases decreased by 8.4 per cent, while semi-urgent and non-urgent cases dropped by 21.3 per cent. See also: Hong Kong public hospital A&E visits drop following doubling of fees for low-priority cases Axel Siu, chairperson of the HA Coordinating Committee in A&E, said in the statement that the figures indicated that the “resources of A&Es are now better directed towards critical and emergency patients.” Public hospital doctors. File Photo: Supplied. “Non-urgent patients or patients with other medical needs are changing to seek more appropriate healthcare services other than A&Es, achieving the original intention of the public healthcare fees and charges reform,” he said. “We are very pleased to see that the reform has successfully achieved its positive and intended outcomes.” Siu said that patients with minor conditions or episodic illnesses are encouraged to visit government-funded outpatient clinics, private clinics or private hospitals. Along with the fee hike, the HA relaxed the thresholds for medical fee waiver to cover more patients. On January 1, it introduced an annual spending cap for patients who spend more than HK$10,000 a year. Fees exceeding this amount will be covered by the government, though self-financed items are excluded.