Patient backlog will mean longer waits, says HA

The Hospital Authority on Monday warned of even longer waiting times for medical services at public hospitals, as healthcare staff work to clear a backlog of patients that has built up over the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

Non-emergency services were repeatedly suspended and postponed since the beginning of last year, as hospitals sought to reserve manpower and facilities for Covid-19 patients.

But with the number of local infections now hovering at a low level, the head of the authority Tony Ko says staff can now focus on providing regular services.

“I’m happy to tell you our services have by now largely resumed to our usual levels,“ said Ko during the authority’s annual convention.

“Nonetheless, the number of previous suspensions has inevitably created additional burden to our already long waiting time.”

Speaking at the same event, Chief Executive Carrie Lam praised the courage and dedication of medical workers in the fight against the pandemic.

However, she accused some healthcare staff of spreading misinformation and politicising the government’s efforts to fight the disease.

Lam said that despite public safety being at stake, a small number of people had “repeatedly sought to undermine our anti-epidemic efforts including distorting the purpose of the universal community testing programme last September or slandering mainland vaccines.”

“To counter that, my government has been highly transparent about our anti-epidemic initiatives and programmes and we’ll continue to promote understanding through various means with a view of restoring and building trust in our community,” she said.