Strain on Hong Kong's health system increases as government dithers over reform

Late last year, Yim Man-fung, 72, had cataract surgery on her right eye - after waiting for treatment at a public hospital for 10 years.

She was finally able to afford to get treated at a private clinic, courtesy of HK$12,000 from the Society for Community Organisation.

"The surgery took no more than 10 minutes," said Yim, a welfare recipient who lives in Sham Shui Po. "I just do not understand why it takes so long for public hospitals to arrange surgery. The doctors kept telling me to return for a check every year, as if the surgery would not be required until I was blind."

It might sound like an impossibly long wait. But similar stories abound. The waiting time for cataract surgery averages 22 months, according to the Hospital Authority. A patient can wait up to three months to see an ear, nose and throat specialist at an outpatient clinic. And the wait for gynaecology services can stretch to 125 weeks. More than 21,000 patients treated by specialists last year had been waiting for three years. More than 1,000 others waited longer.

"Timely access to medical care is an enormous challenge for our health care system," said Tim Pang Hung-cheong, a patients' rights advocate with the Society for Community Organisation.

The government met half of the city's health expenses in 2007-08 - HK$39 billion out of HK$79 billion - according to a report released in 2011, with employer-funded and private insurance, and households, picking up the rest of the bill.

There is growing concern that waiting times and costs will rise as the population ages, prompting greater demand for medical care.