Hong Kong public hospitals struggle to find enough beds to cope with demand
Lawmakers told Tuen Mun Hospital is overstretched on both medical and paediatric wards as admissions rise in peak flu season
Bed occupancy rates at Tuen Mun Hospital have topped 100 per cent in both medical and paediatric wards as the public health sector struggles to cope during the peak flu season.
Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man told lawmakers in a written reply on Wednesday that the occupancy rate in the medical ward between November and January was 104 per cent. On the paediatric ward it was 110 per cent, the highest of any public hospital offering inpatient services for children.
Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin had the most overstretched medical ward, with an occupancy rate of 116 per cent.
The New Territories West group of hospitals, which includes the Tuen Mun institution, was the only group that recorded occupancy rates exceeding capacity in both wards.
The overflow, common in the peak flu season from December to April, means temporary beds sometimes have to be set up in hospital corridors.