Hong Kong auditor calls for more dental appointments at public clinics, overhaul of registration process
- Current system at most Department of Health-run clinics offers limited number of spaces from 12am each day, with patients required to register in person
- Audit Commission says dental service quota has decreased from 40,322 in 2018-19 financial year to 20,337 in 2022-23
Hong Kong’s auditor has urged health authorities to increase the number of dental appointments available at public clinics to pre-Covid levels and make them easier to obtain to prevent patients from lining up for hours.
At nine out of the 11 government dental clinics managed by the Department of Health, preliminary registration for consultations starts at 12am each day that services are available and closes once the quota is reached.
Patients must visit the clinics in person to be fully registered, which then allows them to obtain an appointment during the daytime.
The Audit Commission noted on Wednesday that the daily number of spaces at the 11 clinics had decreased from 40,322 in the 2018-19 financial year to 20,337 in 2022-23, a drop of about 50 per cent.
But public demand rose over the same period, going from filling 92.3 per cent of all available quota spots to 99.2 per cent.
The commission said it had observed several patients queuing about seven hours early to wait for registration to start for the next day’s quota at four clinics in December 2023 and February of this year.