According to reports from Hong Kong, Ko Wing-man, Secretary for Food and Health of the Hong Kong SAR, stated today that it is necessary for public hospitals to continue suspending obstetric services for both "doubly non-permanent resident" (where neither parent is a Hong Kong resident) and "singly non-permanent resident" (where the spouse is a qualified Hong Kong resident) pregnant women, in order to concentrate resources on caring for local Hong Kong expectant mothers.
The Hospital Authority's task force held a meeting and did not recommend that public hospitals resume accepting "singly non-permanent resident" pregnant women next year. Ko Wing-man stated that he respects the task force's view, noting that although the workload in public hospital obstetric departments has decreased following the implementation of the zero-quota policy for non-local pregnant women, waiting times for gynecological services remain very long, and neonatal intensive care services have reached saturation, meaning there are currently no conditions to relax the policy.
He also pointed out that some private hospitals have already lowered their fees for obstetric and gynecological services in response to demand, which he believes will assist mainland pregnant women who intend to give birth in Hong Kong.
