Faster and cheaper: why Hongkongers are heading north for medical care
Soon after becoming a mother, Hong Kong resident Sarah Tam enjoyed eight hours of sleep a night and yoga sessions at a post-partum care centre in neighbouring Shenzhen, where carers looked after her newborn around the clock. Tam, a 30-year-old social worker who gave birth in mid-July, spent a month at the facility in mainland China, recovering from delivery with total peace of mind. She said she…
Hong Kong residents are increasingly seeking medical care in mainland China due to the lower costs and higher quality standards. Social worker Sarah Tam recently spent a month at a post-partum care centre in Shenzhen, where she was provided with 24-hour newborn care, meals, and wellness treatments at a fraction of the cost in Hong Kong.
Other residents, like financial planner Lu, also travel to Shenzhen for dental procedures, such as root canals, which are significantly cheaper in the mainland. Experts believe this trend can help ease the burden on Hong Kong's public healthcare system and improve medical standards in the mainland. However, some private healthcare providers in Hong Kong have reported a decline in patients due to the attractive prices and greater transparency in the mainland market.
Authorities have taken steps to facilitate this northbound medical tourism, such as enabling residents to share electronic health records with bay area medical facilities and expanding the healthcare voucher scheme.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post - Hong Kong's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
