Seeing a doctor and who to call: fees and access
What public hospital and clinic visits cost, how to reach emergency and mental health help, and what the official pages leave unsaid for visitors. Hospital Authority fees are those in force from 1 January 2026.
Sources checked ·
How much does a public hospital A&E visit cost?#
The Hospital Authority (HA) lists the public A&E fee as HK$400 per attendance for Eligible Persons and HK$2,100 per attendance for Non-eligible Persons. HA says these fees have applied since 1 January 2026.
Eligible Persons are Hong Kong Identity Card holders (unless the card rests on a permission to land or remain that has expired), resident children under 11, and others HA approves. Everyone else is a Non-eligible Person.
HA exempts Eligible Persons triaged as Category I (critical) or II (emergency) from the fee. HA's FAQ says no application is needed: the fee is refunded if the patient is discharged from A&E, and offset against the inpatient bill if admitted. The FAQ names only Eligible Persons for this exemption.
Can I get the A&E fee back if I leave before seeing a doctor?#
Yes, within a time limit. The Hospital Authority says a patient who has registered and then leaves before seeing a doctor can apply within 24 hours for a refund of the A&E fee. The refund is HK$350 for Eligible Persons and HK$1,850 for Non-eligible Persons. These amounts have applied since 1 January 2026.
HA's A&E page says to apply through the HA Go app or the A&E Registration Office. HA's fee FAQ says the Eligible Person route applies to Category III to V patients, and that payment takes about a month. It says refunds paid by credit card or e-wallet (Alipay, AlipayHK, WeChat Pay, WeChat Pay HK) go back to the same method, and other payments, including Octopus, are refunded by cheque.
How does A&E decide who is seen first?#
HA triage nurses sort A&E patients into five categories by clinical condition: critical, emergency, urgent, semi-urgent and non-urgent. Treatment priority follows the category, not arrival order. HA says patients who do not need emergency attendance should use public or private clinics.
HA's waiting pledges cover Categories I to III only. Category I is immediate treatment. For Category II, 95% are treated within 15 minutes. For Category III, 90% within 30 minutes. HA states no pledge for Categories IV and V, and says patients with non-acute symptoms should expect a longer wait.
Sources & data1
Where can I see current A&E waiting times?#
HA publishes estimated A&E waiting times as open data. The feed lists 18 hospitals, and DATA.GOV.HK shows it refreshed every 15 minutes. A revised version with a new format was released on 13 October 2025. HA also runs an A&E waiting-time web page. We print no waiting times here, because they change all day.
HA's data dictionary defines them as estimates of waiting time upon arrival. Categories I and II give one figure in minutes. Category III gives the 50th and 95th percentile in minutes. Categories IV and V together give them in hours, rounded up to the nearest half hour.
Which number do I call in an emergency, and what are 992 and 112?#
GovHK tells visitors to dial 999 for the Police, the Fire Services Department or an ambulance (page last reviewed April 2025).
SMS to 992 is for people with a speech or hearing impairment who have registered in advance. It works only within Hong Kong, and the Police guide does not say whether visitors can register.
GovHK (page last revised September 2026) says dialling 112 connects you to the 999 emergency call centre from any local mobile phone network that has coverage where you are. OFCA says to try 112 if your phone cannot lock on to its own network.
How do I call an ambulance, and does it get me seen sooner?#
The Fire Services Department (FSD) provides the emergency ambulance service, including on outlying islands. Dial 999, or the FSD Communication Centre on 2735 3355. FSD says to give what happened, the exact location, the patient's condition and a contact number. Its overview (undated; file last modified 8 October 2025) adds that if circumstances permit and the condition is not serious, such as sunburn rash, the person should go to hospital by other means.
FSD's FAQ says arriving by ambulance does not bring earlier consultation. The patient is triaged like others and may be classed as semi-urgent or non-urgent.
What are family medicine clinics, and what do they cost?#
Since 11 October 2025, HA's General Outpatient Clinics have been called Family Medicine Clinics. HA's own page is titled "Family Medicine Clinics (formerly known as General Out-patient Clinics)". The Community Health Centres became Family Medicine Integrated Centres on the same date.
HA's fee page, effective 1 January 2026, lists HK$150 per attendance plus HK$5 per drug item for Eligible Persons, and HK$500 per attendance plus HK$40 per drug item for Non-eligible Persons. One drug charge covers 4 weeks of that drug. An injection or dressing is HK$50 (Eligible) or HK$250 (Non-eligible) per attendance.
How do I book a family medicine clinic visit, and can visitors?#
For episodic illnesses such as colds and influenza, HA says patients can reserve a slot in the next 24 hours through the FMC Telephone Appointment System or "Book FMC" in the HA Go app, and bring identity documents to register at the clinic.
HA's booking FAQ (dated 5 October 2026) says anyone who has never registered with HA should first register in person at an FMC with an original identity document. Cancel at least one hour before. Three missed appointments within two months suspend phone and app booking.
No official page says whether visitors can attend or book.
What does a public specialist clinic cost?#
HA's fee page, effective 1 January 2026, lists HK$250 per attendance plus HK$20 per drug item at a specialist clinic for Eligible Persons, and HK$850 per attendance plus HK$90 per drug item for Non-eligible Persons.
Waiting information for specialist clinics is on HA pages, not here. HA publishes new-case waiting times through DATA.GOV.HK, updated quarterly (January, April, July and October). We do not describe referral rules here, because HA's pages on them carry dates from 2019 and 2020 (see the last section).
What does the government dental emergency session cover and cost?#
The Department of Health (DH) runs a Dental General Public Session at designated Government dental clinics. Care is limited to relief of pain and tooth extraction (one tooth per visit). It does not include fillings, scaling and polishing, dentures, bridge removal or pre-orthodontic extraction. Bring a valid identity document. Anyone under 18 must come with a parent or guardian.
From 1 January 2026 it is free for Eligible Persons. Non-eligible Persons pay HK$850 for the consultation plus HK$90 per prescription item. DH pages do not say whether visitors without a Hong Kong ID card can enter the ballot.
How do I get a place at the government dental emergency session?#
Places go by computer ballot. DH's page (updated 30 July 2026) says online registration is 6:00 am to 11:30 am, for next-working-day sessions. Registration is not accepted if the next day is a Saturday or public holiday. Each person may register once a day, under their real name, through the DH website, the eHealth app or iAM Smart. Half the quota goes first to people aged 65 or above.
Results come by SMS, and can be checked after 12:30 pm online or on 2892 2111. Winners bring the original identity document used. Staff at clinics with a session help in person from 8:30 am to 11:30 am.
Which mental health helplines are listed as open 24 hours?#
The Government's Shall We Talk site (page revised 4 September 2025) lists six helplines and marks all 24 hours: Caritas Family Crisis Support Centre 18288; Hospital Authority Mental Health Direct 2466 7350; Social Welfare Department hotline 2343 2255; Suicide Prevention Services 2382 0000; The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong 2389 2222; The Samaritans multi-lingual line 2896 0000.
An SWD leaflet (May 2024) differs on one: the SWD hotline has a 24-hour voice system, but its social workers are on duty 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday and 9:00 am to 12:00 noon Saturday. Outside those hours callers can transfer to a Tung Wah Group of Hospitals social-worker team. For harm to oneself or others, call 999 or go to an A&E.
What is 18111, and which languages does it support?#
18111 is the Government's Mental Health Support Hotline, launched on 27 December 2023. It is answered 24 hours a day, all year, by phone and by WhatsApp message (+852 18111). WhatsApp takes texts, photos, audio and video clips, but not voice or video calls.
A Government press release of 4 November 2025 says it supports 12 languages: Cantonese, Mandarin, English, Hindi, Nepali, Urdu, Punjabi, Bahasa Indonesia, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Bengali and Thai. It also offers scheduled callbacks. The Shall We Talk hotline page itself lists no languages.
Is interpretation offered in public hospitals?#
HA says its contractor provides interpretation in 17 languages, plus sign language: Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Bengali, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Nepali, Pushto, Punjabi, Sinhala, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Urdu and Vietnamese.
On-site, telephone and video interpretation runs 08:00 to 22:00 daily, including public holidays. Overnight (22:01 to 07:59) it is by telephone only. At A&E or enquiry counters without an appointment, staff arrange telephone or on-site interpretation straight away. For family medicine or specialist appointments, it is booked ahead through the registration office.
Sources & data1
What do public hospital services cost a visitor?#
A visitor who is not an Eligible Person is a Non-eligible Person. HA's fee page, effective 1 January 2026, lists for them: A&E HK$2,100 per attendance; family medicine clinic HK$500; specialist clinic HK$850; general inpatient HK$7,400 per day; intensive care HK$35,600 per day. Inpatient fees are charged daily from the day of admission, with a 12 midnight cut-off.
HA says that if a patient has, or is suspected of having, a disease specified under the International Health Regulations, no charge is made for A&E attendance or a public ward. The page also says Non-eligible Persons pay for COVID-19 antiviral drugs when prescribed, and lists a minimum obstetric package of HK$74,000 with a confirmed delivery booking and HK$130,000 without.
What do the official pages not say about visitors?#
We found no official page that states: whether visitors can book a family medicine clinic by phone or HA Go; whether visitors can enter the dental ballot or register for 992 SMS; any deposit or payment-in-advance rule for Non-eligible Persons (HA's admission page has no row for non-residents); what vaccines visitors can obtain; or any ambulance charge.
The Department of Health's flu vaccination page for 2026-27 (31 August 2026) lists groups headed "Hong Kong Residents" and no visitor category. Ask HA or the service directly.
Can a visitor borrow books from a Hong Kong public library?#
Sources & data1
What could we not confirm?#
Partly checked, so not relied on above.
Ambulance: a Legislative Council paper of 31 January 2019 says emergency ambulance service is free of charge. We found no current FSD statement, and none for non-residents.
Specialist referral: HA's pages carry dates of December 2019 and November 2020.
Fee waiver and HK$10,000 annual cap: HA's fee FAQ says the cap counts eligible fees billed from 1 January to 31 December, applies only to a patient who is an Eligible Person throughout, and is not automatic (apply through HA Go or a hospital cashier). The FAQ describes no cap for Non-eligible Persons, and we could not tell whether the fee waiver reaches them.
HA's A&E waiting-time page: its own notes could not be read.