Patients with low-priority ailments could be turned away from casualty wards if proposals by the medical profession are adopted.
Public doctors favour turning away cases which were not urgent if a suitable alternative to crammed accident and emergency wards could be arranged.
They propose that a dozen extra health clinics be opened during the holidays, or special areas in casualty wards be set aside - along with additional manpower - for these types of cases.
'Eight clinics are not enough during the long holidays,' association president Dr Andrew Yip Wai-chun said.
He said medical legislator Dr Leong Che-hung had taken up the issue, and hoped negotiations with the Department of Health would result in more clinics, more staff and an eased workload for casualty wards. Drastic action was needed for the change of sovereignty holidays at the end of June, he said.
The number of patients staff had to deal with had become a heavy burden, he said.
'We need something really drastic, some measures to cope with the situation,' he said, but said people should be turned away only if the Department of Health agreed to open more clinics.
