Public Reporting of Waiting Time Statistics related to Specialist Out-patient Clinics in Hospital Authority
Background
1.To further enhance transparency and accountability, Hospital Authority (HA) has reported the waiting time information related to specialist out-patient Clinics (SOPCs) within the public domain.
2.Waiting time information of SOPCs has been reported and will be updated regularly for the eight major specialties, namely Ear Nose and Throat (ENT), Gynaecology, Medicine, Ophthalmology (Eye), Orthopaedics & Traumatology, Paediatrics, Psychiatry and Surgery.
Public Reporting of Waiting Time of Specialist Services in Hospital Authority
Q1: Why does HA report the waiting time of specialist out-patient clinics? What kind of information would be reported?
A1: HA has reported the waiting time information of SOPCs to the public on the HA website (www.ha.org.hk), HA mobile applications (BookHA, HA Touch) and displayed it at SOPCs for the purpose of facilitating patients in considering their treatment plan and choices.
The information being reported currently includes Proportion and Waiting Time for different triage categories of New Case Booking at SOPCs:
Eight Major Specialties:
•Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT)
•Gynaecology
•Medicine
•Ophthalmology (Eye)
•Orthopaedics & Traumatology
•Paediatrics
•Psychiatry
•Surgery
Triage Categories
•Urgent Case (Priority 1) Category
•Semi-urgent Case (Priority 2) Category
•Stable Case (Routine) Category
Waiting Time
•Median of Urgent Case (Priority 1) Category
•Median of Semi-urgent Case (Priority 2) Category
•Median and the Longest (90th percentile) of Stable Case (Routine) Category
Q2: Do I need to wait as long as the longest waiting time of specialist out-patient services?
A2: Medical and nursing staff will assess the patient’s clinical condition to arrange the appointment for patients receiving specialist out-patient services.
The specialist out-patient clinics will arrange the date of medical appointment for new specialist out-patients based on their clinical conditions. Referrals are usually first screened by a nurse and then by a specialist of the relevant specialty for classification into the following categories:
•Urgent Case (Priority 1);
•Semi-urgent Case (Priority 2); or
•Stable Case (Routine).
Patients classified as urgent or semi-urgent will be arranged to have the consultation within 2 weeks and 8 weeks respectively as far as possible.
The median waiting time for stable cases represents that half of the patients' waiting time is within the listed values; the 90th percentile of the waiting time reported represents the longest waiting time among most of the patients. Reported waiting time is not the same as the waiting time for individual patient, as the date of appointment is arranged based on the individual patient’s condition as assessed by medical staff.
Q3: Why is there a discrepancy between the date of appointment and the reported waiting time?
A3: Reported waiting time is not the same as the waiting time for individual patient, as the date of appointment is arranged based on the individual patient’s condition as assessed by medical staff.
Q4: Where can I find the waiting time information of specialist services which is not reported?
A4: Patients can make enquiry to the clinic staff for the expected waiting time of specialist services when they make their specialist out-patient booking upon presenting their referral letters.
Q5: When will the waiting time information of specialist services being updated?
A5: The waiting time information of specialist services will be updated quarterly. Patients can find the date of next update in the HA website.
(Information location: HA website > Service Guides > Specialist Out-patient Clinics > Waiting Time for New Case Booking for Specialist Out-patient Services)
Q6: Can patients choose to have the specialist out-patient services in the short-wait cluster?
A6: Patients classified as urgent and semi-urgent will be arranged to have the consultation within 2 weeks and 8 weeks respectively as far as possible.
For the stable cases, patients may book new case appointment at SOPCs of their choices, while HA will take due account of individual patients’ clinical condition and nature of service required in arranging appointment for SOPC services. For example, for patients who require community support and frequent follow-up treatments, staff of HA may recommend and arrange patients to seek medical care at SOPCs close to their residence for greater convenience in attending follow-up appointments and accessing community support services.
Q7: What are the registration procedures, types of Specialist Out-patient services and the charges in the other clusters/ clinics?
A7: Relevant information can be found in the HA website (www.ha.org.hk) under “Service Guides”. You may also make enquiry to respective clinics. The working hours and contact numbers can also be found in the HA website.
(Information location: HA website > Service Guides > Specialist Out-patient Clinics > List of all Specialist Out-patient Clinics)
Q8: Can patients, who have received cross cluster specialist out-patient services, request to have follow up in other cluster?
A8: Patients can approach their doctors to make referral for specialist out-patient services in other cluster and make booking for the services in other cluster with the referral letter. For details on the waiting arrangement, patients may contact respective clinic.
(Updated on 6 November 2020)