HA activates service demand surge special measures
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) announced today (December 19) that public hospitals will activate service demand surge special measures starting Sunday (December 21). The HA anticipates increased service demand at public hospitals during the Christmas and New Year holidays and will closely monitor hospital operations.
The HA Chief Manager (Cluster Performance), Dr Larry Lee, said, "Public hospitals will implement special measures to cope with increasing service demand for Accident and Emergency Departments (A&Es) and inpatient services, including enhanced manpower, bed capacity, and laboratory testing services for influenza and other viruses. Hospital command centres will co-ordinate discharge procedures and support arrangements for admissions, discharges and transfers to ensure that patients receive timely and appropriate treatment and that beds are available for new admissions. Also, public hospitals will reduce medical elective admissions after long holidays and open extra sessions for fractured hip surgeries during long holidays as and when necessary. Meanwhile, Community Geriatric Assessment Teams will strengthen support for residential care homes for the elderly, such as increasing visits, to reduce pressure on A&E attendance and unnecessary hospitalisation."
The HA will implement special refund arrangements in the A&Es during the service demand surge period to provide stable patients with flexibility in choosing alternative medical care. While waiting for medical consultation at A&Es, patients who wish to seek treatment at other healthcare institutions can raise a refund request for the A&E charges directly from staff on duty at the registration counter. "HA Go" members may also submit refund applications through the HA mobile app "HA Go". This arrangement applies only to patients who have not been attended to by doctors, and applications must be made within 24 hours of registration. Eligible applicants will receive the refund in approximately one month by cheque by mail, credit card or electronic wallet. The special refund arrangements will be implemented until December 31, which will be replaced by the A&E refund arrangement under the Public Healthcare Fees and Charges Reform on January 1, 2026.
Family Medicine Outpatient Services have been enhanced in order to cope with the service needs from members of the public and to alleviate the service pressure on A&Es during the Christmas long holidays. A total of 18 Family Medicine Clinics (FMCs) will provide public holiday FMC services during the Christmas holidays (December 25 and 26) (see table below). Patients may book an appointment either through the telephone appointment system or the "Book FMC" function of the "HA Go" mobile app.
The Chinese Medicine Clinics cum Training and Research Centres (CMCTRs) located in the 18 districts will also enhance government-subsidised Chinese medicine outpatient services on December 24, 27 and 29 to meet public demand. Patients may make an appointment either by telephone during service hours or through the "18 CM Clinics" mobile app (applicable to patients who have registered for 18 CMCTRs service). Please refer to the latest information on Chinese medicine services on the HA CMK website (cmk.ha.org.hk/christmas-2025).
The HA urges non-emergency patients to avoid using A&E services and instead seek treatment at FMCs, private doctors or 24-hour outpatient services at private hospitals to reduce pressure on public hospital A&Es. Members of the public can visit the Health Bureau (HHB)'s Primary Care Directory (www.pcdirectory.gov.hk). The HHB has also collated information of private hospitals, healthcare facilities, family doctors and Chinese medicine clinics that will be in operation during the 2025 Christmas and 2026 New Year holidays across the city. The information (including addresses, phone numbers and operation hours) of the relevant hospitals and clinics have been uploaded to the online portal (www.map.gov.hk/gm/s/hhbclinic/all?lg=en) for public reference in collaboration with the Spatial Data Office of the Development Bureau and the Lands Department.
As Hong Kong is currently in the influenza season, the HA reminds the public to maintain personal and environmental hygiene during the holidays to prevent disease transmission. People with respiratory symptoms should wear masks and seek medical attention promptly. Eligible persons, particularly those in high-risk groups, should get vaccinated early for seasonal influenza and COVID-19 to reduce the chance of infection for themselves and their family members, as well as to reduce the risk of critical illness and death after infection.
Family Medicine Outpatient Services arrangements during the Christmas holidays (December 25 and 26)
^ Will provide clinic services on December 25
# Will provide clinic services on December 26
Service hours: 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm
Source: AI-found images
