Sanatorium C-sections at public hospital prices

Pregnant women can soon have cesarean sections at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital at public hospital prices amid the pandemic.

Deputy medical superintendent Joseph Chan Woon-tong said the private hospital in Happy Valley has signed an agreement with the Hospital Authority, which will refer to the Sanatorium 10 to 20 women scheduled to give birth by cesarean section at public hospitals.

He said the public-private partnership is a result of the authority wanting to concentrate its resources on emergency services and treating virus patients.

"Pregnant mothers with stable conditions will be referred to us to ease the burden on public hospitals," Chan said, adding that the Sanatorium will also conduct prenatal and postnatal checks.

While the mothers pay the same price as in public hospitals, the authority will pay Sanatorium one-third of the original price. The price for a five-day cesarean stay at a public hospital is less than HK$1,000, while that for a six-person ward in HKSH is HK$28,800.

Recently, many pregnant women have opted for private hospitals as public hospitals have barred their husbands or relatives from entering maternity wards as part of infection-control measures.

"We have seen pregnant mainland women coming to Hong Kong in advance in order to give birth at our hospital after completing the mandatory quarantine," said Chan, the hospital's head of department of women's health and obstetrics.

He said the partnership will also cover electrotherapy for cancer patients, under which the hospital will give the authority a 30 percent discount for referred public patients, who will in turn again pay public hospital fees.

Chan said the two institutions are discussing partnerships covering patients with bone fractures and breast and colorectal cancer.

Wyman Li, chief operating officer of the HKSH Medical Group, said the Sanatorium's occupancy last month was 15 percent lower than in February last year. But he believes the drop is relatively smaller than other private hospitals, which have seen business fall 30 to 40 percent.

Chan said the Sanatorium provides a coronavirus swab test for HK$3,000 and deep-throat saliva test for HK$2,500.

jane.cheung@singtaonewscorp.com