XN000022-1997-03-19 — Page 38

Reply:

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(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

The respective numbers of in-patients and out-patients who received the ten types of examinations in public hospitals in 1996, where available, are set out at Annex A. It should be noted that there is no standard practice of recording these activities in the hospitals, and for some. hospitals, there is no breakdown of in-patients and out-patients. The information contained at Annex A represents a best attempt to provide the information requested by manual counting of the number of patients in the records.

Information on the waiting time for the ten examinations in all the hospitals for a whole year is not readily available. The table at Annex B sets out the longest waiting time for an appointment made in early March this year in the eight major hospitals. It should be noted that the priority of patients receiving the examinations is determined in the light of their clinical needs. Urgent cases are accorded with higher priority and the examinations required are normally carried out within a few days.

As explained before, the priority of patients receiving the examinations is determined in the light of their clinical needs. In-patient cases are normally more acute than out-patient cases and as a result will normally be accorded a higher priority. Notwithstanding this, the practice in HA hospitals is for patients to be hospitalised only when the patient's condition warrants it. Patients who are well enough and are only required to wait for examinations would normally be discharged and recalled back for the examination to be carried out on a scheduled date.

The Hospital Authority keeps in view the waiting time, utilisation pattern and mode of delivery for the various examinations. When the waiting time for a particular service increases, the Authority will identify ways to relieve the pressure through resource redeployment and improvement to procedures. It also critically reviews the appropriate use of various examinations to ensure optimal utilisation.