Rise in death rate linked to Covid fears at hospitals

Emergency wards have seen a drop in attendance amid the pandemic - but delayed treatment has also increased the city's death rate, according to a study.

The University of Hong Kong's faculty of medicine found 390,697 - or 27 percent - fewer people have attended the emergency department of 18 public acute hospitals between January 1 and August 31 last year - when the city was hit by the first three local waves of Covid - compared to the same period in 2019.

At the same time, the mortality rate in Hong Kong went up from 2 percent to 2.9 percent - a staggering 45 percent rise.

The university's clinical assistant professor Abraham Wai Ka-chung, who co-led the research, said the lowered attendance could be due to the public's fear of contracting Covid at hospitals, adding some did not want to overpressure the public medical system.

"It may be due to public fear of being infected with [Covid], of being isolated and quarantined from family and friends or of taking up unnecessary hospital beds," he said.

"Government and media messages that emphasize pandemic concerns might have discouraged patients from seeking timely and optimal management of their chronic diseases and other health conditions.

"In fact, since the early stages of the pandemic, our local hospitals have actually responded well to the pandemic, with sufficient capacity to manage seriously ill patients."

Emergency medicine unit head Timothy Hudson Rainer said the increase in mortality among elderly and chronically ill patients could be results from delayed treatment due to hospital avoidance.

"While it is important to advise patients on social distancing measures, [the public] should also be educated to recognize the severity of their illnesses and encouraged to seek appropriate medical advice in a timely manner," Rainer said.

The surge in death rate was observed in patients with various illnesses such as epilepsy, lower respiratory tract infection, mental disorder and chronic kidney disease. The trend was reflected in both men and women above 45 years old, regardless of their risk categories and social classes.

Results of the research have been published on medical journal Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Meanwhile, public hospitals are in the midst of its winter service surge.

Thirteen out of 17 public hospitals have over 100 percent medical inpatient bed occupancy rate at Sunday midnight. The highest occupancy rate was recorded at United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong at 115 percent. As of 7.30pm last night, the average waiting time at the emergency room at 18 public hospitals were mostly over two hours.

maisy.mok@singtaonewscorp.com