In the article on patient-doctor ratios (South China Morning Post, July 14), Dr Leung Ka-Lau, of the Chinese University Medical Alumni Association said, 'There are about 3,000 doctors in the Hospital Authority, who need to take care of 90 per cent of the population . . . '.
This is not so. Hospital Authority hospitals do take care of over 90 per cent of the patients who need to be hospitalised. However, this 90 per cent is far less than 90 per cent of the general population. The estimate of a patient to doctor ratio of 2,000 to one is, therefore, an exaggeration, completely ignoring the contribution of doctors who are working in primary care clinics, in particular doctors in the private sector.
I would like to point out to members of the medical profession that quoting incorrect statistics is not a way to solve the problems of our profession.
Dr WING-LOK LO Central