Chinese Medicine and Physiotherapy most requested by residents in 2023

Chinese traditional medicine and physiotherapy & rehabilitation topped the most-requested list from hospital users in Macau over 2023, a statistics release from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) shows.

According to the same data, Chinese medicine accounted for the largest number of consultations last year with a total of 242,000, accounting for 12.4% of the total. The figure also represented an increase in the demand for this type of medical service by 8.3% year-on-year when compared to the previous year.

Following closely were the consultations for physiotherapy & rehabilitation (237,000) and internal medicine (225,000 +4.3%). In the case of physiotherapy & rehabilitation, the figure remained at the same level as in the previous year.

Meanwhile, emergency service recipients totaled 461,000, up by 23.6% y-o-y.

Of concern to primary health care establishments, the total number of consultations increased by 20.9% y-o-y to some 3,790,000. From this number, consultations at private clinics made up 77%, which i an increase of 22.9% to a total of 2,917,000.

Blood donations continue to grow

The same survey noted that blood donations have been on an upward trend in recent years. In 2023, there were 18,468 blood donations, up by 1.4% y-o-y and 19.6% compared to 2019. Donors aged 25-34 accounted for the largest share (31%) of all blood donations, followed by those aged 35-44 (29.7%).

The number of first-time blood donors also increased in 2023 although marginally by 0.2% y-o-y to a total of 3,007.

Ratio between Medical Staff and Patients stable

According to the DSEC, at the end of 2023, Macau had 1,980 physicians, 728 Chinese medicine practitioners, and 2,980 nurses.

Such figures represent a very slight increase from the previous year, for the first two, respectively 0.76%, 0.55% and a 4.1% increase in what concerned the number of nurses.

The ratio of medical staff per 1,000 people remains practically unchanged with the equivalent of 2.9 physicians per 1,000 people (same as in 2022), 1.1 Chinese medicine practitioners (same as in 2022), and 4.4 nurses (+0.1) per 1,000 people.

Changes hinted for Macao Union Hospital

The DSEC noted that, as the Macao Union Hospital only started trial operations in December 2023 and remains without any inpatient beds, the figures related to the operation of this facility are likely to change only from the end of 2024.

Still, the DSEC noted that, in 2023, the number of inpatient beds rose by 161 to 1,882 due to the increase of inpatient beds at the Public Health Specialist Building that started operations in October 2023.

On the other hand, primary healthcare establishments (such as public health centers, and private clinics, among others) totaled 732 inpatient beds, up by two y-o-y.