Doctors Prescribe A New Cure For Crowded Hospitals

A group of private doctors is proposing a new way to cut down waiting times at public hospitals – divert patients to specialists in the private sector.

The Association of Private Medical Specialists said the government should subsidise this for eligible patients who are in line to see public hospital specialists.

They described this new public-private partnership as a "third way" to solve the problem.

The group said the government should start a new department similar to the Legal Aid Department for this purpose. But they did not provide any details on the amount that patients should be subsidised.

The association’s president, Dr Samuel Kwok, said this kind of cooperation would be an effective way to address the imbalance in resources between the public and private sectors.

The association also conducted a survey on 200 specialists who had left the public healthcare sector in the past decade.

It said more than 70 percent of respondents blamed the lack of time with patients and low job satisfaction for their departure from the Hospital Authority.