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SFH continues his visit in London (with photos)
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     The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, continued his visit to London, the United Kingdom (UK), today (May 17, London time), paying a visit to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and meeting with its Chief Executive, Mr David Behan, in the morning.

     The CQC, an independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England, administers a registration scheme under which providers of services such as hospital services, residential care, personal care and nursing care are required to meet essential quality and safety standards in order to qualify for registration and commence operation. The CQC conducts a regular review of service providers against the essential standards of quality and safety, and disseminates the review results to service users to enable them to make an informed choice of service providers.

     During the meeting, Dr Ko pointed out that the Hong Kong Government set up the Steering Committee on Review of the Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities in October last year. It is tasked with reviewing the regulatory regime for the private health-care facilities in Hong Kong, which covers private hospitals, nursing homes and non-profit-making clinics. The review aims at enhancing the quality and transparency of private health-care services, as well as better protecting patients' rights and safety. Dr Ko thanked Mr Behan for sharing his experience and advice on ways to enhance the quality of private health-care services and strengthen regulation of private hospitals.

     Dr Ko then met with Medical Director of the National Health Service (NHS) and Chairman of the NHS Review of the Regulation of Cosmetic Interventions Committee, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh. The Committee was set up in the UK as a result of increasing concern over standards of cosmetic surgery and products. The Committee will review existing guidelines for ensuring the physical and psychological health of people having cosmetic interventions. It will address areas such as the quality of products used, the ability of staff, informed consent, redress in the event of harm, and systems for reporting patient outcomes.

     Dr Ko said, "Chaired by the Director of Health, the Working Group on Differentiation between Medical Procedures and Beauty Services was also set up to differentiate between medical treatments and ordinary beauty services currently available in the market and to make recommendations to the Hong Kong Government on procedures that should be performed by registered medical practitioners. Today's discussion with the Committee has enabled us to have a better understanding of the UK's experiences."

     Before concluding his visit in London, Dr Ko called on the Department of Health of UK and had a discussion with the senior officials on the regulatory challenges brought about by the advancement of medical technology.

     Joining Dr Ko in the London visit are the Director of Health, Dr Constance Chan, and the Head of the Healthcare Planning and Development Office of the Food and Health Bureau, Mr Chris Sun.

     Dr Ko will leave London for Munich, Germany, tomorrow (May 18, London time) to visit a Chinese medicine clinic in Kötzting.

Ends/Saturday, May 18, 2013
Issued at HKT 07:01

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