The Health Bureau (known by its Portuguese initials, SSM) has proposed issuing licenses for day hospitals in Macao, aiming to expand outpatient services and create job opportunities. A 30-day public consultation on the proposal opens today and will run until 16 May.
If approved, day hospitals would offer a range of specialised medical services that can be completed within a 12-hour treatment window, the bureau said. These would include procedures like medically assisted reproductive treatments and surgeries performed under general or regional anaesthesia – services traditionally limited to full-scale hospitals.
Speaking at a press conference earlier in the week, SSM director Alvis Lo said the initiative would complement rather than compete with regular hospitals and clinics. Introducing licensed day hospitals also aligned with goals outlined in Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai’s recent 2025 policy address, one of which was to support the development of private medical practices, he added.
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“It is hoped that this will further expand the development space of the local private healthcare market, attract more investment and customers, create more employment opportunities for local medical staff, and drive the development of the local medical industry,” Lo said.
The employment aspect was important, as Macao’s medical professionals face a dearth of vacancies in the city’s health system, according to SSM’s deputy director, Kuok Cheong U. In February, Kuok encouraged these job seekers to look into related sectors, including the emerging medical tourism and traditional Chinese medicine fields.
The number of local medical graduates is set to increase in the future. The city’s first batch of home-grown doctors graduate from the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) six-year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery this year, while the University of Macau aims to open the SAR’s first public medical school in 2028.
