The hospital crisis triggered by the surge in the number of patients in the peak flu season has raised serious questions about inadequacies in Hong Kong's otherwise excellent healthcare system in handling emergencies.

At some major public hospitals, patients seeking treatment for flu and other illnesses had to wait for more than 20 hours to see a doctor. The problem has touched off a wave of criticism in the local media. This put the blame largely on the government in general and the health department in particular for failing to provide adequate facilities and manpower to handle the influx of patients.

But none of those finger-pointing editorials and commentaries has offered any ideas other than calling for a review of the system. In fact, that same system was reviewed internally and by professional consultants several times in the past.

It is agreed that adding facilities is the easiest part of the equation. All that will take is money. But finding qualified medical professionals to operate those added facilities is a seemingly impossible task. Even in less busy days, the existing facilities are experiencing an acute shortage of staff.

The government is exploring the possibility of recruiting overseas doctors for public hospitals. It has yet to convince the local medical professionals and a skeptical public that the move will not lead to a decline in the high healthcare standards that Hong Kong people have taken for granted.

To ease the load on public hospitals, the government has tried to encourage the use of private healthcare by handing out medical vouchers to the elderly. Apparently, the policy has not achieved the desired results. It is reported that more than half of those people seeking treatment at various public hospitals in the past several days were elderly patients.

A few years earlier, an overseas consultant firm hired by the government to review the healthcare system recommended the introduction of a compulsory medical insurance scheme to siphon off patients who can afford insurance to private hospital care. The government had to shelve the proposal in the face of stiff objections from a public accustomed to virtually free medical service.

In view of this, the occasional long wait for treatment is the price Hong Kong people are asked to pay.

(HK Edition 03/11/2016 page7)