https://www.scmp.com/rss/522334/feed Hospital Authority (HA): A prominent Hong Kong-based statutory body, the Hospital Authority is dedicated to managing all public hospitals and institutions, ensuring comprehensive, affordable, and people-centred healthcare services. Headquartered in Kowloon, it oversees 43 public hospitals, 49 specialist outpatient clinics, and 74 general outpatient clinics, organised into seven clusters. Its primary mission is "Helping People Stay Healthy" by providing preventive, curative, and rehabilitative... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial Patients are coming to terms with the steep rise in public hospital fees, which came into effect on New Year’s Day. For many, this includes an increase to HK$400 (US$51.39) from HK$180 for a visit to the accident and emergency department, a charge now waived for cases considered critical or an emergency and for means-tested patients who cannot afford to pay. Thankfully, there was no last-minute rush to beat the fee increase on New Year’s Eve, though plans to cope with this have still helped to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3338532/hong-kongs-public-hospital-fees-rise-balance-must-be-watchword?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3338532/hong-kongs-public-hospital-fees-rise-balance-must-be-watchword?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jan 2026 23:15:08 +0000 Oscar Liu Oscar Liu Two public hospital doctors have been granted bail after being arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of leaking a cancer patient’s medical data to highlight alleged professional shortcomings by her operating surgeon. Observers, meanwhile, said that although the incident did not align with the principles of “whistle-blowing”, it underscored the need for a stronger “speak-up” culture within the Hospital Authority. The 35-year-old associate consultant and the 57-year-old consultant from Tseung Kwan O... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3324028/2-hong-kong-doctors-accused-leaking-patient-data-implicate-surgeon-granted-bail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3324028/2-hong-kong-doctors-accused-leaking-patient-data-implicate-surgeon-granted-bail?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2025 07:12:52 +0000 Elizabeth Cheung,Ambrose Li,Danny Mok Elizabeth Cheung,Ambrose Li,Danny Mok Two public hospital doctors have been arrested in Hong Kong for allegedly accessing computers with criminal or dishonest intent as part of a suspected data leak. Police Superintendent Wong Yick-lung said on Monday that a 35-year-old associate consultant and a 57-year-old consultant, both from Tseung Kwan O Hospital, were arrested a day earlier in Fo Tan and Ho Man Tin, respectively. Officers confiscated computers and other electronic devices as part of the investigation, with the pair remaining... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3323850/2-hong-kong-public-hospital-doctors-arrested-over-patient-data-leak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3323850/2-hong-kong-public-hospital-doctors-arrested-over-patient-data-leak?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2025 01:19:31 +0000 Lam Ka-sing Lam Ka-sing Hongkongers’ already impressive life expectancies rose further in 2024 after falling during the pandemic, with women living on average for a record 88.4 years and men for 82.8 years, census figures show. But a Census and Statistics Department report also underscored the increasing strain on the city’s public healthcare system, with the number of inpatient and day inpatient discharges and deaths in hospitals increasing by 5.8 per cent in a year. Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea have the longest... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3323830/life-expectancy-hong-kong-women-hits-record-while-men-also-get-lift?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3323830/life-expectancy-hong-kong-women-hits-record-while-men-also-get-lift?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Aug 2025 14:34:13 +0000 Emily Hung,Leopold Chen Emily Hung,Leopold Chen Hong Kong is a potential target for terrorists and must maintain a high level of preparedness at all times, the chief executive has said, after the city successfully held its largest-ever counterterrorism exercise on Thursday at Kai Tak cruise terminal. The 30-minute live-streamed drill, which involved more than 500 officers and 200 members of the public, was the first large cross-departmental counterterrorism exercise since the government set up a three-tier mechanism to boost Hong Kong’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3323542/hong-kongs-biggest-counterterrorism-drill-right-track-john-lee-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3323542/hong-kongs-biggest-counterterrorism-drill-right-track-john-lee-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Aug 2025 13:40:41 +0000 Ambrose Li Ambrose Li Patients with non-urgent conditions could have their waiting times at Hong Kong’s public specialist outpatient clinics reduced by a quarter under a new electronic platform being developed to improve efficiency, the Hospital Authority’s chief has revealed. Libby Lee Ha-yun, who assumed the role of authority chief executive earlier this month, also said on Saturday that general outpatient clinics could extend their opening hours by five hours, until 10pm. “We’re reviewing whether the process can... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3322926/hong-kong-plans-new-digital-platform-cut-specialist-clinic-wait-times-25?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3322926/hong-kong-plans-new-digital-platform-cut-specialist-clinic-wait-times-25?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Aug 2025 11:16:17 +0000 Danny Mok Danny Mok An 89-year-old male patient has been arrested for allegedly indecently assaulting a female worker at a Hong Kong hospital. Tuen Mun Hospital reported that the allied health professional was allegedly assaulted in a rehabilitation ward at around 10am on Tuesday. Police arrested the suspect, a patient at the hospital. The man, who had been hospitalised for kidney failure caused by food poisoning, was using a walking frame at the time of the incident, the Post learned. The worker and a female... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3322418/hong-kong-patient-89-arrested-over-indecent-assault-physiotherapist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3322418/hong-kong-patient-89-arrested-over-indecent-assault-physiotherapist?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Aug 2025 14:11:41 +0000 Elizabeth Cheung Elizabeth Cheung The new chief of Hong Kong’s public hospitals has vowed to foster a “speak-up” culture among staff as part of efforts to boost patient safety, while expressing hope that one day no one in the organisation will need to be a whistle-blower. Dr Libby Lee Ha-yun, who took office as the Hospital Authority’s chief executive at the start of the month, said on Friday that she hoped services would be offered more from the patients’ perspective while further considering their opinions. She said fostering... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3321281/new-hong-kong-hospital-authority-chief-vows-foster-staff-speak-culture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3321281/new-hong-kong-hospital-authority-chief-vows-foster-staff-speak-culture?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Aug 2025 23:00:07 +0000 Lo Hoi-ying Lo Hoi-ying Hong Kong confirmed three new cases of chikungunya fever on Wednesday, comprising a woman returning from Guangdong province’s Foshan and a father and son who had travelled to Bangladesh. The Centre for Health Protection on Wednesday said that it was investigating the three imported cases. Health authorities said the woman, 79, lived in Southern district and had visited the mainland Chinese city of Foshan from July 1 to 31 to see her relatives. The patient was unable to recall being bitten by a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3320994/hong-kong-confirms-3-new-imported-cases-chikungunya-fever?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3320994/hong-kong-confirms-3-new-imported-cases-chikungunya-fever?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Aug 2025 13:14:40 +0000 Lam Ka-sing Lam Ka-sing Hong Kong has confirmed its first imported case of chikungunya fever since 2019, involving a 12-year-old boy, with health authorities urging residents to step up vigilance against the mosquito-borne disease. Should residents worry about a local outbreak? What protective measures should be taken? The Post breaks down the details for you. 1. What happened to the boy? The head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, Dr Albert Au Ka-wing, said the boy lived in Kwun... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3320556/how-can-you-protect-yourself-if-hong-kong-has-chikungunya-fever-outbreak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3320556/how-can-you-protect-yourself-if-hong-kong-has-chikungunya-fever-outbreak?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Aug 2025 15:15:56 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The accessible and affordable world-class public health system Hong Kong enjoys – and expects – comes at an ever-increasing price, amid an ageing society and the rising costs of medical and pharmaceutical advances. A revamp of the fee structure from next year, to recover more of the spiralling costs to the government’s budget, was inevitable. Rightly, it is subject to measures to safeguard access for the most vulnerable members of society. It is good, therefore, to learn the government is going... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3319684/cheaper-drugs-revamped-fees-are-healthy-steps-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3319684/cheaper-drugs-revamped-fees-are-healthy-steps-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jul 2025 22:45:10 +0000 Elizabeth Cheung Elizabeth Cheung The Hospital Authority’s outgoing chief executive has said Hong Kong public hospitals are on the right path in terms of finances, manpower and infrastructure, with his term as the organisation’s top man being a “complete and abundant” experience. Dr Tony Ko Pat-sing, who will retire by the end of the month, described his past six years as a “joyful time” despite having to overcome challenges brought by anti-government protests and the Covid-19 pandemic. “I feel reassured,” Ko said on Thursday.... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3319646/hong-kong-public-healthcare-moving-right-path-outgoing-hospital-authority-head?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3319646/hong-kong-public-healthcare-moving-right-path-outgoing-hospital-authority-head?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jul 2025 23:00:09 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification On a typical Sunday morning in Hong Kong, you might find a British expat sipping yuen yeung at a cha chaan teng before hiking Dragon’s Back, a French architect browsing incense coils in Sheung Wan,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3318124/hong-kong-thrives-because-not-despite-its-hybridity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3318124/hong-kong-thrives-because-not-despite-its-hybridity?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jul 2025 03:30:07 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Last month, the Department of Health announced the timetable for establishing the Centre for Medical Products Regulation (CMPR). In line with recommendations from the chief executive’s 2023 policy... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3317904/how-hong-kongs-new-drug-regulator-can-give-city-competitive-edge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3317904/how-hong-kongs-new-drug-regulator-can-give-city-competitive-edge?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jul 2025 03:30:09 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial Hong Kong’s public healthcare system may not necessarily be seen as the world’s best because of the long waits and crowds. That view, however, does not do justice to the general high standards and professionalism among the medical staff as well as the affordable medical bills. Unfortunately, there have also been isolated mishaps or blunders, which seemingly have become more common as the sector grapples with staff shortages and a fast-ageing population. As part of a revamp to enhance patient... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3316921/latest-patient-safety-prescription-hong-kong-hospitals-much-needed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3316921/latest-patient-safety-prescription-hong-kong-hospitals-much-needed?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Jul 2025 23:15:08 +0000 Connor Mycroft Connor Mycroft A former chairman of Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority, a media mogul and a business leader have been awarded the city’s highest honour this year, while Olympic gold medal fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai was also recognised for her sporting achievements. Two Hongkongers who helped save residents from a deadly fire were also among the 427 individuals recognised on the 2025 Honours List on Tuesday for their contributions to society. Also honoured was a Hong Kong rescue team that had been deployed to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3316417/medical-excellence-olympic-glory-hong-kong-honours-outstanding-contributions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3316417/medical-excellence-olympic-glory-hong-kong-honours-outstanding-contributions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Jun 2025 16:01:08 +0000