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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (February 27):
Question:
Regarding dental services, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) as I have found in my investigation that over 60% of members of the public do not visit dentists regularly for dental examination and scaling, and nearly 70% of them consider that the dental services provided by the Government are inadequate, whether the Government has, apart from providing the existing services, formulated any new plan and allocated additional resources to improve dental services; if it has not, of the reasons for that;
(b) as the Government had advised in its reply to my question in May last year that it planned to release later in 2007 a consultation document to consult the public on individual health care service reforms and health care financing arrangements (but the date for releasing the consultation paper has been repeatedly deferred), when the public will be consulted on dental services;
(c) as the charges for dental examination and scaling often exceed $200 per visit, and the charges for fixing dentures can be as high as $10,000, whether it has assessed how the issuance of health care vouchers worth only $250 in total to the elderly can actually help in promoting their oral health, and whether it will separately issue dental care vouchers to the elderly; if it will not, of the reasons for that; and
(d) given that in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on May 23, last year, the Government said it would listen to the views of the dental profession on the implementation of a dental care scheme for secondary school students, of the views received and whether it will make reference to the views of the profession to extend the coverage of such scheme to children and the elderly; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The most important way to improve oral health is by preventive work. As such, the Government's policy is to raise public awareness of oral health and help them to develop good oral health habits through publicity and education.
In addition, the School Dental Care Service (SDCS) of the Department of Health (DH) provides primary dental and oral care for all primary school children in Hong Kong to help them develop proper oral care habits since childhood. In the past three years, primary school children participating in the SDCS constituted more than 90% of the total number of primary school children.
As regards publicity and education, the DH's Oral Health Education Unit (OHEU) has been actively organising territory-wide and age-specific activities to promote oral health. The DH also launches an annual "Love Teeth" campaign to promote a correct tooth cleaning concept and proper tooth cleaning techniques among the public. Oral health messages have also been conveyed to the public through promotional programmes produced in collaboration with the media including television, radio and the press, and through light box advertisements placed at public places. The DH updates the webpage of the OHEU from time to time and has put in place a 24-hour interactive Oral Health Education Hotline, through which the public can have ready access to oral health information. Under the "Patron Angel of Oral Health Programme" launched by the DH in collaboration with the private sector and non-government organisations, training has been provided to working adults and elderly volunteers for promoting oral health among their peers. We will, by way of education, continue to bring home to the public the importance of regular dental check and scaling, with a view to enhancing the oral health of the general public.
(b) Health care service reform and financing arrangements are complex issues, and many organisations in the community have raised new ideas and proposals from time to time. It is prudent to carefully examine the views from all sectors, and explore how best to explain to the public cogently the health care reform and financing problem and consult their views as early as possible. As mentioned in our reply to Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki's written question on May 30, 2007, at this juncture, we will first deal with primary health care issues, address the imbalance between the public and private sectors, and explore long-term health care financing arrangements. As for other services, such as public dental service, we will set our working priorities in the long run having regard to various factors including the resources and demand situation.
(c) The health care vouchers scheme for the elderly is a pilot scheme which aims to implement the "money follows patient" concept on a trial basis by providing the elderly with a partial subsidy for choosing additional private health care services and to promote the concept of shared responsibility for health care. The scheme is not meant to provide full subsidies to the elderly for seeking health care services in the private sector. Under the pilot scheme, the elderly can, according to their needs, use the health care vouchers for services provided by western medicine doctors, Chinese medicine practitioners, chiropractors, dentists, allied health professionals and for laboratory tests. We will review the pilot scheme, especially on whether it serves the intended purpose of enhancing the primary health care for the elderly, and on the utilisation tendency and pattern of the health care vouchers by the elderly. At present, we have no plan to issue vouchers separately for specific health care services such as dental services.
(d) The Government and the dental profession are still studying the proposal of setting up a dental care scheme for secondary school students. There is no plan to extend the coverage of dental care scheme to young children and the elderly for the time being.
As regards young children, DH has carried out oral health education programmes targeting at young children. The "Brighter Smiles for the New Generation" programme launched by the DH since 1993 aims to encourage children aged six or below to develop good oral care habits since early childhood. The DH also produced different types of specially-designed educational resources to disseminate the message of oral health to pre-school children and their parents through Maternal and Child Health Centres, kindergartens and nurseries. Besides, an annual "Love Teeth with Your Kids" programme has been launched by the DH with the objective of encouraging parents to motivate their children to clean their teeth on their own initiative. In the 2006-07 school year, there were up to 100 000 school children participating in the "Love Teeth with Your Kids" programme.
As for the elderly, apart from visiting the 11 designated Government dental clinics for free emergency dental treatment, they may also use the inexpensive dental services provided by non-government organisations. The elderly who are recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance are entitled to a dental grant to cover the actual expenses of the dental treatment they have received. Upon the implementation of the elderly health care voucher scheme, the elderly may also have access to private dental services by using the elderly health care vouchers.
Ends/Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Issued at HKT 13:55
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