**********************************************

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, on the health policy area at the special meeting of Finance Committee in the Legislative Council today (April 13):

Chairman and Honourable Members,

We are committed to ensuring that our healthcare systems are of quality, equitable, efficient, cost-effective and accessible to the public.

In 2005-06, we will:

(a) heighten our preparedness against the threat of infectious disease, in particular avian influenza;

(b) work out options to enhance the sustainability of our public healthcare system (including service positioning of the Hospital Authority (HA), fees review, funding arrangement in respect of HA, health care financing);

(c) step up momentum on developing a community-based, citizen-centred mode of healthcare service delivery model (community outreach services, family medicine, Chinese medicine clinics etc); and

(d) raise the health capacity of our population and promote ownership (building a smoke-free community, including anti-smoking legislation; preventive programmes; health promotion campaigns).

Healthcare systems are only as good as the people and professionals seeking to deliver them. We recognise the professionalism of our healthcare practitioners and will continue to promote Continuing Medical Education and training for Chinese medicine practitioners. We also recognise the shortfall in the number of nurses, as well as the low morale and feeling of uncertainty among frontline HA staff, and I am confident that HA will devise robust strategies to address such challenges.

Ends/Wednesday, April 13, 2005

NNNN