Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau acknowledged on Wednesday that there are problems with long waiting times at the accident and emergency (A&E) departments of public hospitals.

He was commenting after a woman with chronic diseases was found dead in a waiting room toilet at Eastern Hospital on Monday following a 12-hour wait to be seen.

Speaking to reporters after attending a Legco panel meeting, Lo expressed his condolences to the woman's family and said authorities will look into improvement measures after a coroner's inquest into the death has taken place.

The health chief also said it is not ideal for people to wait such a long time to be assessed at A&E.

“Waiting for such a long time is not ideal. It is mainly due to the shortage of medical staff. The government has been taking various measures to address this issue, such as the recent Greater Bay Area Healthcare Talents Exchange Programme, which have received positive feedback and have helped our healthcare system,” he said.

Lo said people with non-urgent health issues should consider using other medical resources, rather than adding to the pressure on A&E departments.

He also urged people in high-risk groups to get Covid boosters, while health officials also called on the public to get flu jabs.