Gov’t confirms no A&E at Cotai hospital during first phase

The new Cotai hospital, set to soft-open on Handover Anniversary, will provide no accident and emergency (A&E) services, at least during its early phase of operations, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng has confirmed.

At Tuesday’s Policy Address Press Conference, the Times asked the official if the future medical facility will have an A&E department. Ho said no hospital would offer A&E services during its trial operations.

“This is common sense,” he said.

Information on the topic has been either scattered or unclear.

However, at an earlier occasion, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong, had said the public hospital A&E department at the Macau University of Science and Technology Hospital in Taipa, would be moved to the new hospital, and such services would be provided during the first phase of operations, local media Cheng Pou has reported.

The Times also contacted the Health Bureau (SSM) on Oct. 17, but there was no reply before Tuesday’s press conference.

During the new hospital’s construction, some clinicians had expressed to the Times their hope for the new medical facility.

They said patients suffering medical emergencies, such as severe accidents, strokes or heart attacks, which require high-standard medical attention quickly to improve their odds of survival and recovery, will benefit from the new facility.

For example, Taipa and Coloane residents would reach a critical medical facility sooner than now because they would not need to be transported all the way to the Macau side, they said.

The current two A&E departments in Taipa can only accommodate a limited number of emergencies, according to some readers, who had been diverted to the Macau side when they approached those facilities.