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Following is a question by the Hon Andrew Cheng and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (December 16):
Question:
The Hospital Authority (HA) was established in 1990 under the Hospital Authority Ordinance (Cap.113) and its main functions include encouraging public participation in the operation of the public hospitals system. Regarding the operation of HA, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) the respective numbers of meetings of the HA Board and its 11 committees (excluding the Hospital Governing Committees and the Regional Advisory Committees) held and those not held because of a lack of quorum, as well as the number of members whose annual attendance rates at meetings were below 50% last year;
(b) if the HA Board and the aforesaid committees convened any public hearing last year in respect of their discussion items and invited the organisations concerned to attend and give their views; if so, of the number of public hearings convened and the number of organisations which attended these hearings; if not, how HA ensures that it has fully understood the concerns and views of the organisations concerned in making its decisions; and
(c) if the authorities will consider amending the Hospital Authority Ordinance in order that patient groups and the Legislative Council may elect representatives to be members of the HA Board; if they will, of the details; if not, what measures the authorities have put in place to ensure that members of the HA Board and the aforesaid committees, who are appointed without pay and in their personal capacity, can effectively monitor this huge and professional system of HA?
Reply:
President,
(a) In the past year (i.e. from December 1, 2008 to November 30, 2009), the Hospital Authority (HA) Board has held 12 internal meetings and four open meetings. The 11 functional committees under the Board have held a total of 77 meetings during the same period. None of the meetings was called off due to a lack of quorum. During the period, the overall attendance rates of two members were below 50%. As members of the HA Main Tender Board attend the meetings on a rotational basis, their attendance rates at the HA Main Tender Board are not included in the above calculation.
(b) At present, the HA Board holds about four open meetings a year to discuss and report on matters of concerns to the society and the public, such as the HA annual plan, progress reports on the highlighted service items of HA, and the annual report of the Public Complaints Committee and the Patient Relations Office of the HA Head Office. Members of the public and organisations are welcome to observe the open meetings. The purpose of the open meetings is to enhance the transparency of the work and services of HA.
Moreover, the HA Head Office has maintained communication with the public and patient groups through various channels. For instance, HA introduces its new services and the development of existing services to patient groups and the public and consults them through regular and special meetings. Also, representatives from patient groups are currently included as members of the HA Board, the Public Complaints Committee and the Patient Satisfaction Survey Task Force.
At the cluster level, the Cluster Chief Executives and Hospital Chief Executives also visit the District Councils to report on and explain matters of concerns to patients and the public, such as the annual plan and new services of the cluster. Besides, the hospitals maintain communication with patients and the public through other channels, such as meeting with patient representatives, establishing the post of Patient Relations Officer and setting up patient resource centres, to understand their concerns and needs.
(c) HA is responsible for managing public hospitals to provide hospital and related healthcare services to the public. Its daily operation involves a wide range of work, including provision of medical services, financial and human resources management, procurement, implementation of works project etc. In appointing HA members, the Administration will carefully consider the background, expertise, past records of public service and service experience of each candidate. The existing mechanism effectively ensures that the HA Board has a proper and balanced mix of individuals so that people with relevant expertise and knowledge from different sectors can give advice to HA on different aspects of its work. The mechanism functions smoothly and there is no need for changes.
Ends/Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:24
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