Health City sees more doctors, fewer beds in 2024

The healthcare workforce in Macau grew slightly in 2024, according to data released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

By the end of the year, the number of registered doctors had risen by 50 to 2,030, while the number of nurses increased by 78 to 3,058.

Traditional Chinese medicine also saw growth, with the number of Chinese medicine doctors and herbalists rising by four to 732, while the number of dentists saw a slight decrease of two, totaling 304.

These figures translate to ratios per 1,000 population of 2.9 doctors, 1.1 Chinese medicine practitioners, 0.4 dentists, and 4.4 nurses, remaining steady compared to 2023.

A reduction was seen in the number of inpatient beds, dropping by 103 to 1,779 due to bed redeployment, while non-inpatient beds – including emergency and day care – increased by 97.

The occupancy rate for inpatient beds decreased by 2.3 percentage points to 71.5%.

Individuals receiving hospital services rose 1.9% to 2.545 million, with outpatient visits increasing 2.1% to nearly two million, emergency visits up 0.5%, and inpatient services climbing 4.1%.

Notably, Chinese medicine accounted for the largest share of outpatient services at 13.3%, followed by physiotherapy and rehabilitation at 12.6%.

Primary healthcare establishments grew slightly to 733, with total consultations rising 3.6% to 3.925 million, reflecting increased demand in both private clinics and government facilities.