It is not hard to see that Hong Kong’s health-care system is in trouble when you walk down a hallway at any public hospital and notice the long queues for medical services.
This problem of overcrowding is simply due to the large numbers of individuals requesting treatment and the shortfall in the number of public hospitals and manpower.
“Fiscal reserves are estimated to hit HK$952 billion by March 2018”, Hong Kong’s new financial secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po, announced in his first budget on February 22.
Investing in the public health system for a better society is a worthy goal. “The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health,” is considered a fundamental human right under the World Health Organisation Constitution.
Reports warn that Hong Kong will face a health care crisis by 2026 as there will not be enough beds to cover patient demand.
Indeed, we do not need to wait until 2026 to see that, as we can experience the supply-demand imbalance during the peak flu season each year. Ironically, there are usually a number of peak flu seasons in Hong Kong, meaning the number of beds can never cover patient demand.