Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    TWO months after cutting consultation fees to attract more patients, the University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Hospital has started providing free shuttle bus service from the nearby Metro station.

    Starting yesterday, a free shuttle bus runs from the C1 exit of the Qiaochengdong Station. The bus leaves the Metro station every 20 minutes from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. the hospital said.

    It’s the hospital’s most recent step to increase patient numbers.

    On Oct. 9, it lowered the consultation fees for outpatient departments and the emergency department to 50 yuan (US$7.88) from 100 yuan. The hospital has faced criticism for taking government funds but not treating enough patients.

    The hospital is outside of central Futian District and about 1 kilometer away from any major bus stations or the nearest Metro station. Complaints have prompted more bus routes to go past the hospital.

    The hospital said yesterday that it will run the shuttle bus for a month and adjust the service depending on patient response.

    The hospital is funded by the Shenzhen Municipal Government but managed like a Hong Kong hospital. It’s hoped the hospital will touch off medical reforms on the Chinese mainland.

    In contrast to other big public hospitals in Shenzhen, the hospital is often quiet with much less foot traffic. The current number of outpatients the hospital handles per day is 3,000, far below the hospital’s capacity of 10,000, the hospital said in July.

    The number of outpatients is projected to surge from 3,000 per day to almost 5,000 by the end of this year.

    The hospital set a relatively high consultation fee of 100 yuan, unlike other hospitals on the mainland where seeing a doctor is inexpensive, but hospitals profit by over prescribing medicine.

    The hospital didn’t say when consultation fees will go back to normal, saying it depends on patients’ reactions.