RTHK Backchat interview | Long waits for patients seeking specialist care

The latest data shows that patients who are in a stable condition face waits of up to 205 weeks — or just shy of four years — in the worst-case scenario. The Hospital Authority explains that queues have become longer due to the knock-on effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Chief Executive John Lee has promised to cut waiting times for new internal medicine patients by 20 percent by 2024, and the Hospital Authority says it’s stepping up its partnership with the private sector as part of efforts to speed things up and get suitable patients diagnosed and treated earlier. Is this target achievable? What can be done to cut these long waits?