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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.
The overcrowding seen earlier this month at the new Accident and Emergency Department in Kwong Wah Hospital is a common problem faced by A&E departments.
People who need medical care flock to emergency rooms because they do not want to wait in line in government clinics nor pay the cost of seeing private practitioners. Others visit emergency rooms for the convenience of after-hours availability.
Overcrowding in emergency rooms by non-emergency patients results in prolonged waiting times for bona fide emergency cases, causing increased morbidity and mortality. The use of emergency facilities for non-emergencies is also not cost-effective.
Many countries adopt various triage systems in emergency rooms, whereby patients are categorised by level of urgency, from those requiring immediate evaluation by doctors, such as of strokes and heart attacks, to those with minor ailments such as colds and ankle sprains. Patients are then directed to either the actual emergency department or an adjacent non-urgent outpatient clinic.
By the same token, establishing a functioning telehealth system as part of the emergency services will help alleviate overcrowding. Patients can call in for advice regarding the urgency of their problems. Studies have shown that healthcare issues can be triaged safely through telephone consultations with experienced clinicians.
In many cities in the US, there are numerous private urgent care clinics with longer operating hours where patients can just walk in and receive non-emergency medical care. The Hong Kong government could consider operating a number of such urgent care outpatient facilities in various locations to take care of non-emergency patients. This will be a win-win situation for both patients and emergency rooms.
In addition, to alleviate emergency room overcrowding, educate the public on the importance of healthy lifestyles and preventive healthcare. Regular visits to and appropriate treatments by primary care doctors will go a long way towards reducing many unnecessary emergency room visits.
Overcrowding in emergency rooms is a significant problem in Hong Kong and elsewhere. The solution lies in the collective efforts of healthcare workers, the government, the press and the public at large.
Dr John I. Yam, Seattle, US
Resilience is vital for city’s first locally trained vets
We are glad to learn that 11 locally trained veterinary surgeons could soon join the over 1,100 practising vets in Hong Kong in caring for our animals (“Hong Kong-trained vets 1 step closer to being allowed to practise in city as university seeks international recognition for course”, June 4).
Studying veterinary medicine is challenging, and many vets suffer from professional and client-related stress. Apart from the stresses common to all medical practitioners, vets also face the challenge of dealing with patients who do not speak human languages and having third parties, such as pet owners, pay for the medical treatment.
In 2022, we invited all practising vets in Hong Kong to take part in a survey on their mental health. Only 56 participants fully completed the survey.
Among them, 19.6 per cent had suicidal thoughts, and 29.4 per cent had depressive and anxiety symptoms. Further, in in-depth interviews with us, 18 vets reported stress and anxiety over intense competition for business (with several veterinary clinics located in proximity, it’s easy for pet owners to “vet hop”) and getting poor reviews online.
Accordingly, to enhance the mental capital of the soon-to-be vets, we piloted a canine-assisted mental health education programme in collaboration with the City University vet school, to help students improve their mental health literacy, communication skills and self-care awareness.
We take reference from an approach to health that is increasingly recognised as valid. One Health is an integrated attempt to balance and optimise the health of people, animals and the environment, with relevance for food and water safety and nutrition, as well as controlling zoonoses, managing pollution and combating antimicrobial resistance, especially in the post-Covid world.
Science underpins food standards to ensure our food is safe and veterinary surgeons play a significant role here. We need a cohort of resilient and healthy vets to help all Hongkongers better prepare and deal with looming ecological crises that will affect the future of all living species.
Camille Chan, PhD candidate, and Paul Wong, associate professor, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, University of Hong Kong
Cancelling Gay Games would only harm LGBTQ cause
I refer to the article, “Gay Games organisers reject calls to cancel event” (June 14). The ignorance of a self-styled LGBTQ Hong Kong human rights activists’ group is staggering.
As a gay man living in Hong Kong, I have publicly expressed frustration with our government, in particular the previous chief executive and her inability to comprehend the positive role of the LGBTQ community. In their condemnation of the Hong Kong organisers of the Gay Games, however, the activists say they “aligned themselves with pro-authoritarian figures responsible for widespread persecution against the people of Hong Kong”. Could the activists provide evidence of this?
Similarly, the activists speak of the 2019 pro-democracy protests and of the government’s brutal response, yet make no mention of the protesters’ brutality towards any Hong Kong person who disagreed with their views.
Hong Kong remains a safe place regardless of one’s gender or sexual orientation. The Gay Games is an attempt to slowly recognise the city as a place where diversity is accepted.
Change will not happen overnight; it is a process. Those who attempt to stir up trouble harm the process and give fodder to those who seek to destroy the progress made for the LGBTQ community in Hong Kong.
Mark Peaker, The Peak
Time to do away with paper arrival and departure cards
On my latest visit to Hong Kong, I dutifully completed the arrival card at the airport. Interestingly, when I departed from West Kowloon by high-speed rail, the immigration officer did not ask for the departure card.
Which leads me to wonder: what purpose do these cards serve? In 2023, when many places, such as the US and Singapore, have done away with such paper forms, why does the Hong Kong special administrative region government persist in requiring them?
A simple yet effective contribution to a greener society would be to discontinue these forms.
Ivan Png, North Point


Thousands visit Victoria Park for Mid-Autumn global showcase of lanterns

HK Electric to cut fuel charge for first time in 4 months as CLP raises rate

Hong Kong teacher jailed for 3 years for molesting pupil during free tutoring

Dog rescuers vow to microchip after charges, decry punishing ‘those trying to help’

Hong Kong

How Hong Kong can learn from the US to ease overcrowding at hospital emergency rooms

Patients wait to enter the new A&E Department at Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei on opening day on May 31. A surge of patients caused waiting time to rise to eight hours on June 2. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Hong Kong’s mental health services fell short due in part to a manpower shortage. Why deny it?

People place flowers and leave notes at the shopping mall where two women were killed on June 2 by a mentally disturbed man. Photo: May Tse

Hong Kong’s mental health crisis demands the attention of everyone

A woman leaves flowers on June 6 near where three girls died in Sham Shui Po. Photo: Jelly Tse

Members of the public pay tribute on June 3 at the scene where two people were stabbed to death by an assailant at a shopping centre in Diamond Hill. Photo: AP

Hong Kong’s shortage of healthcare professionals should not be linked to patient’s attack on women in shopping centre, official says

People lay flowers to mourn two shoppers stabbed to death in a knife attack at the Plaza Hollywood shopping centre. Photo: Dickson Lee

A health official and a government adviser disagree on whether the mall murders were related to a shortage of healthcare professionals. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Hong Kong mall stabbing: authorities urged to overhaul mental health services to provide patients with more community support

Residents place flowers in the Diamond Hill mall where two women were stabbed to death last week. Photo: May Tse

The Hospital Authority says it has been providing community psychiatric services through case managers who arrange regular home visits. Photo: SCMP

Opinion

Readers discuss ways to prevent non-emergency patients seeking treatment at emergency rooms, mental health support for local vets, the misguided call to cancel the Gay Games, and the use of paper arrival cards at immigration


Readers discuss ways to prevent non-emergency patients seeking treatment at emergency rooms, mental health support for local vets, the misguided call to cancel the Gay Games, and the use of paper arrival cards at immigration.
