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Following is a question by the Hon Tam Heung-man and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (October 18):
Question:
I have recently conducted a survey, the result of which revealed that nearly 40% of the women did not take regular gynaecological check-up. Moreover, according to the information from the Department of Health, at present, only three Women Health Centres and 10 Maternal and Child Health Centres provide health services for women, with some 20 000 women enrolled in such services each year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider:
(a) stepping up publicity to encourage more women to enrol in the health services provided by the Department of Health; if it will, of the details of the specific publicity programme;
(b) increasing the number of centres that provide women health services so that women in various districts can obtain such services in their neighbourhood; and
(c) providing subsidies to all women in Hong Kong for them to seek health services in private medical institutions or take annual gynaecological check-up; if it will, when the policy study concerned will commence; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) At present, the Department of Health (DH) publicises the details of its Woman Health Service through various channels, such as the DH Homepage (www.dh.gov.hk), the Family Health Service Homepage (www.fhs.gov.hk) and the Central Health Education Unit Hotline (Tel. No.: 2833 0111). Information leaflets are also distributed in Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) and other organisations such as the Integrated Family Service Centres. The DH will closely monitor the utilisation of such services and review the publicity strategies and means as appropriate.
(b) Woman Health Service is provided by the DH for women aged 64 or below in its three Woman Health Centres (WHCs) and 10 MCHCs located across the territory. The utilisation of the Service now provided by these Centres has not yet reached full capacity. Moreover, the DH is not the sole provider of woman health services. Other organisations in the community, such as the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, and the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, among others, also make available an array of health programmes for women. Hence, the DH has no plan at this stage to increase the number of such centres for Woman Health Service.
(c) Members of the public should take responsibility for their own health, adopt a healthy lifestyle and take it upon themselves to undergo preventive check-ups, such as physical examination. We encourage the public to use the preventive check-up services currently offered by many family doctors at reasonable prices. Our limited resources should be utilised in the most appropriate manner and allocated to those genuinely in need. Hence, at this stage, the DH does not intend to provide women health services or regular body check-ups for women directly or by provision of a subsidy.
In fact, for effective disease prevention, we should understand their causes and early symptoms as well as the risk factors, maintain a healthy lifestyle and consult doctors once possible symptoms emerge. It is more important for the Administration to direct its efforts to disease prevention and health promotion through public education rather than the provision of physical check-up services. Therefore the DH will continue to update the information on the prevention of women-related illnesses and on health promotion, and raise women's awareness of the common diseases and the preventive measures through various means, such as leaflets, compact discs, webpages, or health talks for women held in collaboration with community organisations. The DH will keep up its on-going efforts to assess the health care needs of women in Hong Kong, and review the mode of service provision and the contents of health education, while collaborating with relevant organisations to promote women's health.
Ends/Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Issued at HKT 13:15
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