Hongkongers’ outpatient experiences in the territory’s hospitals have been rated at the relatively high score of 7.7 out of 10, according to the latest survey results from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Foremost among public hospitals was Haven of Hope in Tseung Kwan O, which scored 8.3. Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital and Grantham Hospital followed in second and third places with 8.2 and 8.1, respectively.

Tsan Yuk Hospital in Sai Ying Pun placed at the bottom of the list, with an overall experience score of 7.2.

Grantham Hospital
Grantham Hospital in Wong Chuk Hang. Photo: HKFP.

The survey’s 14,000 respondents gave high ratings to ‘trust and confidence in healthcare professionals’, ‘level of coordination among healthcare professionals’ and ‘respect and dignity to patients’.

However, other areas of healthcare service received scathing reviews.

Areas of survey with positive feedback
Areas of survey with positive feedback. Photo: HA.

Among the areas with relatively low scores were ‘giving choice of appointment’ at just 1.6, ‘information on self-care after leaving the clinic,’ ‘involvement in decision making’ and ‘providing information on the waiting time during appointment’, which scored a dismal 0.4.

Areas for improvement
Areas for improvement. Photo: HA.

The Hospital authority (HA) said in a press release that these areas will be targeted for “quality improvement.”

HA Director for Quality and Safety Dr Derrick Au stressed that “the HA attaches great importance to patients’ views, and the findings would enable the HA to identify areas for improvement from patients’ perspectives.”

The survey, carried out on behalf of the Hospital Authority by the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at CUHK’s Faculty of Medicine, interviewed respondents who had had consultations at one of 26 HA Specialist Outpatient Clinics.

Ryan Ho Kilpatrick is an award-winning journalist and scholar from Hong Kong who has reported on the city’s politics, protests, and policing for The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, TIME, The Guardian, The Independent, and others