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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (May 2):
Question:
The Prince Philip Dental Hospital is a publicly-funded organization which provides dental services to two categories of patients, namely, teaching patients (TPs) and private fee paying patients (PFPPs). If the dental problems of a patient are considered to be suitable for teaching purposes after screening, the patient will receive treatment as a TP, and are required to pay nominal fees only. As to PFPPs, they must be referred by registered medical or dental practitioners and are required to pay higher consultation fees than TPs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows the details in (Annex 1) concerning the Hospital.
ReplyˇG
Madam President,
The Prince Philip Dental Hospital (PPDH) is a teaching hospital which provides clinical teaching facilities for undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Hong Kong. As stated in the question, the PPDH serves two kinds of patients, namely teaching patients (TPs) and private fee paying patients (PFPPs). For TPs, patients are required to undergo an initial screening upon their first attendance and will be registered as TPs if their dental problems are found to be fit for teaching purpose. Consultation appointments will then be arranged for them by the PPDH according to the teaching schedule of the Faculty of Dentistry as well as their types of dental problems.
For private patients, they are required to have a referral letter issued by a registered medical practitioner or a dentist, recommending a referral for specialised treatment at the PPDH. Only dental specialists with considerable clinical experience can provide treatment to private patients, and the time they spent on attending to private patients each week cannot exceed two half-day sessions.
In connection with the above question, the PPDH provides the required information at Annexes 2 and 3.
Ends/Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:50
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