Hospital E&A Dept sees 305 patients a day

An average of 305 persons are calling at the hospital emergency department every day, with 111,688 calls made last year, the Health Department said.

Only just over a quarter were doctor referrals. The remaining patients opted to go there on their own, and in most cases could have been treated at health centres, the department said.

The number of callers at the department reached 36,435 in the first four months of this year.

The department said in reaction to a report in a section of the media that patients were not seen on a first come, first served basis, but according to the seriousness of their case.