Hong Kong Island hospitals may be reorganised to tackle population decline
Official says Hospital Authority restructuring unrelated to deficit, with ‘administrative’ changes targeting efficient movement of resources
Permanent Secretary for Health Thomas Chan Chung-ching said on Sunday the Hospital Authority’s restructuring plan was unrelated to the government’s budget deficit, which was expected to reach HK$100 billion (US$12.9 billion) this financial year.
“We have to clarify that we are not reviewing [the structure] because of the financial deficit. The population size of the Hong Kong East Cluster will decline, but that of the West Cluster will increase … the service demand will slightly shift to the western side,” he said, referring to two groups of hospitals on Hong Kong Island.
“After the restructuring, all the hospitals for complex or acute illnesses will still exist, and no residents will lose access to their usual hospital.”
The Hospital Authority, which runs the city’s public hospitals, organises its facilities into seven geographical “clusters”, with two on Hong Kong Island, two in the New Territories and three in Kowloon.
The Hong Kong Island clusters currently feature five hospitals that treat complex or acute illnesses: Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam; Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai; Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan; Grantham Hospital in Wong Chuk Hang; and St John Hospital in Cheung Chau.
Chan said the population on the island would decline to 1.2 million by 2041, which is about the service size of one cluster.
