The Health Bureau today announced that 380 private hospital beds are now available for accepting patients transferred from the Hospital Authority (HA).

In a press release, Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau said he has been paying close attention to the collaboration arrangement on patient transfer between the HA and private hospitals under the COVID-19 epidemic.

Following an earlier meeting between Prof Lo and representatives from the Hong Kong Private Hospitals Association, all 13 private hospitals have provided a total of 364 hospital beds at the initial stage, and the number of hospital beds can be gradually brought up to around 1,000 depending on the actual demand.

Upon close liaison between the HA and private hospitals in recent days, the health chief stressed that he is pleased to learn that private hospitals have allocated more hospital beds, making available at least 380 hospital beds for use at the moment.

He said: “I hope that private hospitals can fulfil their social responsibility and meet the public expectations by continuing their collaboration with the HA and resolving difficulties in a positive and pragmatic manner, in a bid to expedite the transfer arrangement for HA patients to receive early treatment in private hospitals.”

In addition to thanking the CUHK Medical Centre, St Teresa’s Hospital and St Paul’s Hospital for providing more hospital beds, Prof Lo said he was delighted to observe that the utilisation of hospital beds among various private hospitals has improved.

As for individual private hospitals which are yet to have a satisfactory admission of patients, the HA has taken the initiative to meet the relevant management teams to enhance communication and explore solutions.