June 24, 2011

Public and private hospitals will provide a total of not more than 35,000 places for non-local women giving birth in Hong Kong next year.
 
Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow told the media today a cap on the number of non-local women coming to Hong Kong to give birth is necessary to maintain the professional standards of the city’s obstetric services and ensure the sustainable development of obstetric and paediatric services.
 
The Hospital Authority will only accept bookings from non-local pregnant women when spare capacity is available. It is estimated 3,400 places could be allocated by public hospitals to pregnant non-local women next year. Bookings from these women will stop once the quota has been used up.
 
Meanwhile, the 10 private hospitals offering obstetric services will reduce bookings from pregnant non-locals to about 31,000 next year, representing a decrease of 7% compared to this year’s bookings.
 
The Government will determine the number of deliveries for 2013 in the first quarter next year.
 
The Department of Health will provide two types of certificates on confirmed antenatal and delivery bookings to public and private hospitals. These certificates will carry the women’s personal information, the names and contacts of their obstetricians, as well as their antenatal check-up dates.
 
Issued by hospitals, the certificates will serve as a booking confirmation and approved entry for non-local pregnant women. They will need to produce the certificates when entering Hong Kong at immigration control points.
 
“These arrangements will facilitate the Department of Health to keep a close watch on the services provided by individual hospitals and obstetricians,” Dr Chow said.
 
Non-local pregnant women will also need to undergo antenatal check-ups in Hong Kong by local obstetricians at an appropriate stage to assess if they are suited to come to Hong Kong for delivery.
 
The Hong Kong College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists is formulating guidelines on antenatal check-ups to facilitate obstetricians in making clinical assessment. The guidelines are expected to be completed in two months’ time.
 
Dr Chow said the Hospital Authority will allocate more resources in expanding neonatal intensive care unit services. Individual private hospitals will also improve their special care baby services to reduce referrals to public hospitals’ neonatal intensive care units.