Opening next year, New Territories hospital may prove boon to aging or ill residents on tight budgets

3 July 2019 rmedcalf HEALTH 0

cuhk 2 — Dr Fung Hong, Chief Executive of the new hospital formerly held the same position at the Prince of Wales Hospital Photo: CUHK

A new private hospital will open next year promising transparent upfront medical pricing to attract middle-class people. Its Chief Executive is Dr Fung Hong, who previously held the same position at the Prince of Wales Hospital. According to news reports, the CUHK Medical Centre next to University station will guarantee upfront pricing of all medical procedures in standard beds. The aim is to lure people who can afford to pay for care but are cost conscious away from the over-stretched public health system.

Dr Fung was quoted as saying his team is working towards better plans from health insurers that give wide coverage at low cost. Premiums could be as little as $4800.

This sounds too good to be true, one Legislative Councillor said. The CUHK Medical Centre’s website has not yet published its upfront medical package prices.

cuhk 1 — The new hospital called CUHK Medical Centre: when you go to University station you will see its construction is nearly finished and fitting out is being done Photo: CUHK

The $6.3 billion hospital financed with a $4 billion Government grant will have 516 in-patient beds and 90 day patient beds. It will have an emergency medical centre conveniently available at Ma Liu Shui for many New Territories and Kowloon residents. The hospital is privately owned by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. It is said to be positioned “to bridge the service gaps between private and public healthcare in Hong Kong”.

This will be the 13th private hospital in Hong Kong. It is the only one required to provide 70 per cent of its services to patients in standard beds with upfront package pricing. This is supposed to mean that patients won’t be hit by unexpected fees on discharge. Standard beds are in wards with four beds per room. The hospital will also have first class and second class beds.

The CUHK Medical Centre is now advertising for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, managers and clerical and support staff. It will have a full range of clinical services with an Emergency Medical Centre, 28 operating rooms, outpatient clinics and day patient services A non-profit hospital, any surplus finds will go the the CUHK’s Faculty of Medicine. The hospital will be able to offer low-priced medical care packages because it is non-profit.