The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, today (February 18), with the Hospital Authority (HA), met with the Chinese medicine (CM) sector, including the Chairman of the Chinese Medicine Practice Subcommittee under the Chinese Medicine Development Committee (CMDC), Mr Chan Wing-kwong, and the Chairman of the Chinese Medicines Industry Subcommittee under the CMDC, Mr Tommy Li, to discuss the participation of the CM sector on the epidemic prevention, control and treatment efforts.
 
     "Since the emergence of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Government has all along been maintaining close liaison with the CM sector to jointly work on the epidemic prevention and control efforts. I am pleased that the CM sector has been dovetailing with the Government's anti-epidemic efforts with dedication and professionalism, and is committed to promoting CM anti-epidemic knowledge to the public. In response to the severity of the fifth wave of the epidemic, the CM sector has been proactively mobilising available manpower and resources, including mobilising CM practitioners to provide telemedicine services to the public, facilitating the access to CM treatment at home. Furthermore, the CM drug sector has also initiated the production of health maintenance soup packs and provides anti-epidemic-related proprietary CMs for giving to people in need free of charge," Professor Chan said.
 
     With the facilitation and support of the Food and Health Bureau, the HA has implemented the Special CM Out-patient Programme since April 2020 to provide 10 free sessions of CM general consultation services to discharged COVID-19 patients through the Chinese Medicine Clinics cum Training and Research Centres. About 1 400 discharged patients have joined so far. Subsequently, the HA has launched the Special CM Programme for COVID-19 In-patients at the AsiaWorld-Expo Community Treatment Facility and the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre since January 2021 to provide patients with an option of CM treatment, with the participation of over 130 in-patients thus far. Both programmes have received positive feedback, demonstrating the strengths of CM as well as integrated Chinese-Western medicine in anti-epidemic treatment alongside the unity of the entire healthcare sector.
 
     Professor Chan expressed thanks for the dedication of the CM sector and the HA in safeguarding the lives and health of the people through concerted efforts. At the meeting, she invited the CM sector and the HA to further explore how to support members of the public affected by the epidemic, including those under/pending quarantine and isolation, with a view to further allowing CM to give full play to its strengths in anti-epidemic treatment to overcome the challenges brought about by the epidemic in joint efforts.

Ends/Friday, February 18, 2022
Issued at HKT 20:35

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