Patients using emergency services at public hospitals could be asked to pay HK$200 – double the current fee – under a plan being considered by the Hospital Authority to address overcrowding caused by flu. It would be the first increase since the authority began charging for services in 2002. The HK$100 charge introduced then has not changed in 14 years. \r\nThe plan came after an unprecedented surge in demand for treatment through winter, during which flu pushed the number of daily visits well above the average of around 6,000 to an alarming height of 7,000. |