A private hospital run by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) said on Sunday that it’s considering reducing the prices of urgent care services later this month at the earliest.

Chung Kin-lai, chief executive officer of CUHK Medical Centre, said the adjustments are aimed at offering certainty to patients, after some voiced concerns of "hidden fees" and "surprise bills".

"We have plans to possibly include charges for emergency and 24-hour outpatient services in the next round of fee adjustments in late January or early February," Chung told a television programme.

"We hope to not only bring down prices, but also to offer the public certainty. Often when patients visit the hospital, they come in with fever, cold, flu, or gastroenteritis. We wish to see whether we can give certainty on how much it will cost for the overall treatment and medication for these mild illnesses."

Chung acknowledged the challenging task of repaying the government some HK$4 billion in loans, saying that the non-profit private hospital would have to earn HK$6 billion a year to pay back the amount with interests to the authorities.

He also said a consulting firm had previously projected the annual revenue of the hospital to hit HK$7 billion within three to five years of operation.

"Looking back the estimate at the time, it was a little bit too optimistic," Chung said.

"HK$7 billion is a figure that only the hospital with the highest total income in Hong Kong can achieve. We earned HK$2.38 billion last year, which is still a bit far away [from the number]."