e have routinely reported such data to the HA Board, the Government and the Legislative Council, and also have released it to the media upon request," said Dr Chiu. "Calls from the community for greater transparency and accountability become louder and louder. Being a responsible public healthcare organisation, there is a need for the HA to publicise the information about patient waiting time.

It is understandable that staff may feel uncomfortable about disclosing waiting time. Dr Chiu was very clear in his response to this concern. "This action was not to name and shame. The aim is to put things into focus, so that resources could be driven towards areas of needs," he said.

Dr Chiu explained that the reasons for the disparity in waiting time between clusters are manifold. This include patient load, attrition rate for healthcare professionals, senior to junior ratio, and even infrastructure - for example, some SOPC do not even have enough consultation rooms. How appointments are being scheduled is another factor that would affect waiting time in some specialties. Dr Chiu stressed that HA has not set any targets for waiting time, with staff workload a high-priority consideration.

A number of steps have already been taken to improve the situation, said Dr Chiu. Among them is a pilot cross-cluster referral arrangement launched in August this year for the specialty of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT). Through a central coordination and matching system, patients from Kowloon East Cluster are given an option to seek treatment at Kowloon Central Cluster so that waiting time is considerably shortened. With this pilot programme benefitting about 100 patients each month, HA is now considering extending the arrangement to include gynecological referrals.

Some people may wonder if this cross-cluster referral model could increase workload for colleagues in the receiving hospitals. Dr Chiu explained that this should not, as a shorter waiting time does not necessarily equal to increased activity of the receiving hospital. "Moreover, we only consider cross-cluster referrals when a patient's condition makes it appropriate. For example, such referrals would not be suitable for renal or psychiatric patients. We also have to stress that HA has long been encouraging patients to use services close to their abode whenever possible so as to facilitate continuity of care and community support."

In a bid to provide to members of the public more information about specialist outpatient waiting time, Dr Chiu added, "We are planning to pilot uploading information of waiting time for ENT, cataract and total joint replacement surgeries on the HA website next year at the earliest ."