Need advice on public system

R

Redestiny

Registered User
I'm currently 5wks pregnant and although I think its far too early to even think about delivery, it seems you have to do these things quickly in HK.

The GP I have been using for about 4 years is based at 'Central Health' and is not able to give me advise on having a baby using the public system. Coming from the UK I have a hard time swallowing the costs involved with the private system, but have no idea how I would go about using the public service.

I live in Sai Kung, can anybody recommend a Dr willing to use the public hospitals?

This is my first time and I am feeling very confused.

Thanks so much
 
you can try Dr Sally Ferguson. she can't deliver in HK at all so does lots of prenatal checks..with her she wouldn't have any expectations about where and who delivers for you...but she's very experienced and used to deliver at Matilda and Adventist.
 
Do you mean you want to find a private doctor who can deliver your baby in a public hospital or that you want a private gp to visit while you're pregnant but then you'll just have a normal birth in a public hospital?

I'm doing the latter - the public system is super efficient. Just get a letter from a gp (any gp) to confirm you're pregnant then take it to the hospital and you'll be put on the conveyor belt.... If you're in sai Kung I think your hospital is either Pamela youde or United Christian. The dept of health website should tell you.
 
Ignore me- you wouldn't be Pamela youde, not sure why I wrote that. I think you're in the Kowloon East cluster: which means you'd go to United Christian hospital in kwun tong
 
We recently had a baby in the public system (Queen Mary). Medically, the service was very good, but the lack of easily available information did create some uncertainty and anxiety for us.

You need to find a doctor who will refer you into the public system, regardless of whether they then deliver in it themselves. Any doctor can do this once they have verified your pregnancy. There is a strong financial incentive to book you into the private system, so the public option may not be the first thing to come up in consultation. We consulted Dr. May Mok at the Women's clinic, and she was willing to feed us into the public system once we decided to go down that route. Once you are in the public system, they take over your care.

Public hospitals, just like private ones, also require you to make a booking months in advance, so it is still important to move fast.

The core public service (at least at QM. I cannot speak for other hospitals) is excellent; but it is a bit no-frills, so you may still want to keep in touch with a private doctor to provide any supplementary tests, ante- and post-natal care, midwife visits etc. that you might want.

We also used a company called Annerley (http://www.annerley.com.hk/) who, among other services, provide a workshop called 'Navigation Through the Public Hospitals' as well as ante-natal classes that take the idiosyncracies of Hong Kong's medical system into account. I recommend getting in touch with them if you need some guidance.
 
Yes, I just want a normal birth at a public hospital, just didn't know how to go about it. Thanks for the advice, I'll get a letter from my GP, but will probably need to change my GP after that. Thanks.
 
Actually the public hospital will provide all the antenatal check ups that you need. You have your first at about 12 weeks for downs syndrome screening and soon after that your first check up. After that you will have check ups every month and then in later pregnancy every 2 weeks. I had all my antenatal care at the public hospital except for the 20 week scan. I used Princess Margaret Hospial and they
 
Were great. Cost wise was much better than private. All up paid $150 for me and $250 for baby as he was in the neonatal special care ward for a week.
 
For me, as this is my first, I found it a bit weird that they didn't do anything before 12 weeks. I was so paranoid that something could be wrong that I saw a private obgyn at 6 weeks and 11 weeks just to make sure everything was happening as it should. But that's just me - I'm a worrier.
 
I'm currently 7 months pregnant with number 2. I had my first in the public system and all went well. My baby needed special care for a week and if you are in the private system, baby will be sent to a public hospital for that care! I went to all the ante natal checks through the public system as well and there was a lot of waiting involved! With number 2, I am seeing a private doctor but still plan to give birth at Queen Mary. By 20 weeks you need to make an appointment with your nearest public hospital in order to get your name in the system. So far I have been for 2 checks in the public system and the rest is being done privately. For me this is the best of both worlds as I don't need to wait for hours but also don't need to fork out $70 000 for a private bed. As for delivery, I have no idea which doctor will be with me - whoever is on call at the time ..... and there are likely to be several students watching !!
 
There's a Union Hospital clinic in the mall connected to Po Lam where private docs can look after you whilst delivering in the public system, although I don't know if the waiting time is any less. I just went for my initial pregnancy test to get the letter and an ultrasound.

FYI, presuming everything goes well and you don't need to be seen at the hospital for your antenatal care - if you live off Sai Sha Road and want to go to the MCHC in Ma On Shan, I believe your hospital will be Prince of Wales. If you're closer to the Tseung Kwan O MCHC, then your choices are either United Christian or Queen Elizabeth. If you prefer UCH, then you register at the MCHC, if you prefer QEH, then you have to go there to register (but your care will transferred to the TKO MCHC).

As of last summer, they were still taking people from outside of their catchment area at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern. It's a bit of a hike, but then you can partake of their semi-private rooms in the postnatal ward (if they're not full on the day). I delivered there in March, so feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Best of luck to you with your pregnancy!
 
expatmom2b said:
There's a Union Hospital clinic in the mall connected to Po Lam where private docs can look after you whilst delivering in the public system, although I don't know if the waiting time is any less. I just went for my initial pregnancy test to get the letter and an ultrasound.

FYI, presuming everything goes well and you don't need to be seen at the hospital for your antenatal care - if you live off Sai Sha Road and want to go to the MCHC in Ma On Shan, I believe your hospital will be Prince of Wales. If you're closer to the Tseung Kwan O MCHC, then your choices are either United Christian or Queen Elizabeth. If you prefer UCH, then you register at the MCHC, if you prefer QEH, then you have to go there to register (but your care will transferred to the TKO MCHC).

As of last summer, they were still taking people from outside of their catchment area at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern. It's a bit of a hike, but then you can partake of their semi-private rooms in the postnatal ward (if they're not full on the day). I delivered there in March, so feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Best of luck to you with your pregnancy!
Click to expand...

Second this info about public hospital choices if you live in Sai Kung... Also, Union Hospital Polycylic in Po Lam. I used one of the younger doctors there during my first pregnancy but she no longer sits at that clinic. However, a highly recommended doctor who does is Dr. Yu kai Man. He is the head of obstetrics at Union Hospital if I'm not mistaken and I've heard good things about him; however, he is quite busy so you need to book your appointments in advance (which was why I chose to go with another doctor at the clinic). A few years ago, he was seeing patients who delivered public, not sure now. Google Union Hospital Polyclinic to get their phone numbers and schedule if you're interested. If you can't find it, PM me and I can dig it up.
 
I'm going to deliver at UCH and I registered with them directly and had my nt scan/blood test there too. I didn't go to the TKO MCHC just because their timetable for appointments was really limited. Though I imagine the wait might be less at an MCHC.
 
Thanks everyone for all your advice and help, it has made things alot clearer for me. I have decided to use Annerley for all the Antenatal stuff and then deliver at a public hospital, don't know which one yet but I think the Prince of Wales is probably the easiest for me to get to. Will do some more research first though.
 
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