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Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-hing and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (April 22):
Question:
I have received complaints from elderly people and concern groups for elderly people about new members of elderly health centres (EHCs) having to wait for a long time for various healthcare services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of attendances for the various healthcare services provided last year by each EHC to its members;
(b) regarding each EHC in each of the past three years, of the number of newly-registered members waiting for physical check-up services, the average waiting time for first-time service, and the number of new members who passed away while waiting;
(c) of the criteria adopted by the Government for drawing up the estimates of expenditure of EHCs, and whether they include the elderly population figures of various districts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(d) whether it had assessed the effectiveness of the services provided by EHCs last year; if so, what criteria were used for conducting the assessment; if not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government has always attached importance to the health of elders. The Department of Health (DH) currently provides comprehensive primary health care services, including health assessment, physical check-up, medical consultation, counselling and health education, to elderly members aged 65 or above, through 18 Elderly Health Centres (EHCs) in the territory. The objectives of setting up EHCs are to enhance primary health care for elders, improve their ability to take care of themselves and encourage them to develop healthy lifestyle.
(a) In 2008, the numbers of various health care services provided to members by each EHC are shown in Annex 1.
(b) The number of elders waiting for enrolment as members and the waiting time in respect of each EHC in the past three years are shown in Annex 2. New members receive their first health assessment on the day they become members. The DH does not keep statistics on the number of elders who passed away while waiting for enrolment as EHC members.
The waiting time for EHC membership varies from district to district. Factors affecting the waiting time include the size of the elderly population in respective districts, elders' personal preference (e.g. individual elders may join their friends in neighbouring districts to apply for membership in the same EHC), availability of other physical check-up services in respective districts and the renewal of EHC membership by elders. In view of these factors, the waiting time for membership enrolment for each EHC often varies.
To shorten the waiting time for some elders, the DH provides them with information on those EHCs with shorter waiting time for enrolment as members.
(c) The Government uses the past and anticipated numbers of membership enrolment and attendances for health assessment and medical consultation for formulating the estimated provision for the elderly health service.
The services of the EHCs are heavily subsidised by the Government. In view of the ageing population, demand for primary health care services for elders will only increase in the long run. It is not possible to meet the health care needs of all elders through the EHCs alone. The provision of highly subsidised primary health care services by EHCs is also not the most cost-effective and sustainable way to deliver services to elders.
Indeed, the EHCs are not the only providers of primary health care services for elders. Other service units under the DH, the Hospital Authority, community service organisations and private health care providers also provide similar services. Elders can also receive health care services offered by non-government organisations (NGOs) which are reasonably priced.
Private medical practitioners are also key providers of primary health care services for elders. To enhance primary health care services for elders, the Government has launched the Elderly Health Care Voucher Pilot Scheme (the Scheme) for three years starting from January 1, 2009. The Scheme aims at providing additional choices for elders on top of the existing public primary health care services, and enabling elders to choose their own private primary health care services in their local communities that suit their needs most. Under the Scheme, elders aged 70 or above will be provided with five health care vouchers of $50 each annually to partially subsidise their use of private primary health care services.
As regards health education, free health talks and other health education activities for elders and their carers are organised by 18 visiting health teams of the DH, in collaboration with elderly centres operated by NGOs. In addition, the DH produces health educational kits for self-learning by elders and for use by other elderly service centres, with a view to further promoting health education and disease prevention.
(d) The Government conducts regular review and assessment on the service effectiveness and performance of EHCs, using the annual statistics on the number of membership enrolments, the number of attendances at health education activities, and the number of attendances for medical consultation and health assessment as criteria for the review and assessment.
Ends/Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:01
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