Private hospitals agreed to provide 364 more hospital beds to receive patients referred from the Hospital Authority (HA) to help the authority focus its resources on combating COVID-19, the Government said today.

As the number of daily new cases remains high, the number of hospitalised patients is on a continuous rise. To alleviate the pressure on public healthcare services, Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau invited private hospitals to allocate beds for the HA to transfer suitable patients to receive treatment at private hospitals.

An agreement was reached at a meeting yesterday between the Private Hospitals Association, and Prof Lo, Under Secretary for Health Dr Libby Lee and staff members from HA and the Department of Health.

“All 13 private hospitals are willing to provide a total of 364 hospital beds, including those for COVID-19 patients and non-COVID-19 patients, at the initial stage to address HA’s immediate needs. Depending on the actual demand, the number of hospital beds can be gradually brought up to around 1,000,” Prof Lo announced.

The authority will discuss with the private hospitals the plan for matching one to three private hospitals with each HA cluster for receiving patients referred from public hospitals.

“Given the signs of a rebound in the epidemic situation, it is essential to the lives and safety of our citizens for us to maintain the operation of the public healthcare system. We are grateful to the private hospitals for rendering assistance at this critical juncture and making contributions to Hong Kong’s battle against the epidemic,” said Prof Lo.