Public hospitals struggling to cope with influx
Maternity charges for mainlanders may be raised above private hospital rates in another attempt to deter pregnant non-residents from giving birth in already crowded public hospitals.
After a HK$20,000 maternity charge for non-residents was imposed last September the number of mainland women giving birth at public hospitals fell by 23 per cent in the first five months of its implementation.
But Hospital Authority chairman Anthony Wu Ting-yuk said the numbers were rising again despite the hefty fees.
'The mainland mothers are causing a lot of pressure on the very busy obstetrics and gynaecology departments. And so we are considering various alternatives to deter them from using our services. Increasing charges is one of the options,' Mr Wu said, after a board meeting yesterday. 'If our fees are higher than the private sector, then perhaps some of them might go to the private sector.'
The authority had not decided on the amount, he added.
Authority chief executive Shane Solomon said the authority was examining how much private hospitals charged. 'Finding an average is quite a challenge because you have to include in that the cost of the physician, the cost of an epidural or an operation.
