*********************************************************
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Leung Ka-lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (November 25):
Question:
According to statistics, the waiting time for patients to receive mammography at public hospitals is getting longer and longer, and the waiting time for patients in different hospital clusters (clusters) vary. The authorities have indicated that those patients belonging to groups with a higher risk of developing breast cancer will be accorded priority for receiving such examination. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) in respect of the Hospital Authority (HA) as a whole and individual clusters respectively and among the patients receiving mammography in each of the past five financial years, the numbers of unconfirmed patients (and the percentages of such numbers in the total number of patients receiving mammography), a breakdown of the numbers of confirmed patients by stage of breast cancer (and the respective percentages of such numbers in the total number of patients receiving mammography), and the respective numbers of patients who, prior to receiving mammography, had waited for (i) 60 days or less, (ii) 61 to 180 days, (iii) 181 to 360 days, (iv) 361 to 540 days and (v) 541 days or more (set out in tables of the same format as Annex 1);
(2) in respect of HA as a whole and individual clusters respectively, the numbers of patients receiving mammography in each of the past five financial years, broken down by age group ((i) 0-44, (ii) 45-54, (iii) 55-64, (iv) 65-74 and (v) 75 or above) (set out in tables of the same format as Annex 2;
(3) the criteria adopted by HA's doctors for determining whether a patient belongs to the priority groups; whether the various clusters have adopted the same criteria; among the patients who were determined as belonging to the priority groups last year, the number and percentage of those who had been arranged to receive mammography within two months (with a tabulated breakdown by HA as a whole and individual clusters);
(4) whether HA has set up a referral arrangement so that patients belonging to the same risk group are given the choice of being referred to hospitals in other clusters with shorter waiting time to receive mammography; if HA has, of the details; if HA has not, the reasons for that;
(5) whether HA will consider including mammography in the Public-Private Partnership programmes; if HA will, of the details; if HA will not, the reasons for that; and
(6) the age-standardised incidence rates of breast cancer in female in 2013 and 2014?
Reply:
President,
The Hospital Authority (HA) performs mammography for patients in need to assist diagnosis and treatment. My reply to various parts of the question raised by Dr Hon Leung Ka-lau on mammography service is as follows:
(1) and (2) As HA does not maintain statistics on the number of patients who are confirmed to have breast cancer after receiving mammography, we are unable to provide a breakdown of the relevant number of confirmed and unconfirmed patients.
As for the waiting time for receiving mammography, the statistics kept by HA use the percentile of the waiting time of all patients receiving mammography as the basis for classification. HA has only kept the statistical information of mammography since 2011-12. Annex 3 sets out the 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentiles of the waiting time of patients for receiving mammography in each cluster in the past four years. The number of attendances of patients receiving mammography in each cluster in the past four years is set out in Annex 4.
HA does not maintain separate statistics on the number of patients receiving mammography by age group.
(3) HA's doctors arrange mammography examination for patients according to the medical assessment of their conditions. Those patients who are confirmed or suspected of having breast cancer, or who belong to the high-risk group of having breast cancer will be accorded priority for receiving mammography. In 2014, around 95 per cent of patients who were accorded priority received mammography within two months. HA does not keep separate statistics on the breakdown of such patients by cluster.
(4) For better patient care, HA arranges patients who are accorded priority to receive mammography and laboratory tests performed by the relevant clinical management team in the patients' cluster, so as to have more effective co-ordination and support. For patients who are in the routine category, HA is now further exploring the feasibility of referring them to other clusters for examination. If, after exploration, it is ascertained that such an arrangement help improve the service for these patients, HA will take follow-up action as appropriate.
(5) HA values its collaboration with the private healthcare sector and has implemented a series of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) programmes since 2008. In contemplating clinical PPP programmes, HA will conduct rigorous assessment and widely consult the healthcare sector as well as the public. It will also strike a balance among various consideration factors, such as the feasibility of the proposed programme, service demand, risk assessment, and available support from private healthcare providers, patients and other stakeholders. HA will maintain close communication with the public and patients, and work closely with the relevant stakeholders, with a view to exploring the possibility of developing more PPP programmes in the future.
(6) At present, HA does not have the age-standardised incidence rates of breast cancer per 100 000 female population in 2013 and 2014. In 2011 and 2012, the relevant figures were 56.6 and 56.7 respectively.
Ends/Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:49
NNNN
