The majority of private doctors said private hospital beds are insufficient and more private hospitals should be built, a survey revealed yesterday.

In March, legislator representing the medical sector Kwok Ka-ki conducted the survey with 133 private practitioners.

Ninety-five percent of the doctors agreed that private hospital beds are insufficient.

Ninety-two percent have had trouble referring patients to private hospitals.

Eighty-eight percent agreed to build more private hospitals.

According to data compiled by the Food & Health Bureau, there are 30,850 hospital beds in Hong Kong.

The 12 private hospitals in Hong Kong account for 3,217, one-tenth of the total.

Kwok pointed out that some patients are willing to pay for private medical services.

"However, they are forced to go to public hospitals because there aren't enough beds in private hospitals," he said.

Patients in need of emergency services have to wait for a few days for a private hospital bed; while those who require non-emergency services have to wait for a few weeks, he said.

Apart from the lack of land which makes building more private hospitals a challenge, he said applications for building private hospitals have to be approved by the Town Planning Board and many other government departments.

There has not been any land put up for auction for the building of private hospitals in the past 20 years, he said.

There has been no new private hospital in Hong Kong since Union Hospital opened in 1994, he said.

Hong Kong Medical Association council member Tse Hung-hing said referring patients to public hospitals "will inevitably increase the burden on public medical services".

Surgery specialist Lam Kai-cheong said many patients who require acute medical services can only be put on a wait list for private hospital admission, which will defer treatment and is stressful for patients.

Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, one of the largest private hospitals in the city, said its occupancy rate is constantly 100 percent.

The hospital's public relations manager Sharon Lun revealed that their occupancy rate has increased 12 percent over the past two years.

There have been 14 emergency cases that the hospital had to turn away since April 2007 due to a shortage of hospital beds, she said.

"Our doctors have to look for beds in other private hospitals or even public hospitals sometimes," she said.

The hospital's application to build a 38-story building in February has been rejected by the Town Planning Board, due to a breach of the 12-story height restriction in the Wong Nai Chung area.

The Food & Health Bureau said they have received applications to expand hospital premises or build new hospitals from some private organizations.

The government is actively reviewing the applications, which involve the change of land use.

The bureau added that they support private organizations in developing hospitals and they will actively consider development proposals.

(HK Edition 04/22/2008 page1)