Primary Healthcare Commission's first Women Wellness Satellite to commence operation on June 12 to provide women's health services
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The Government announced earlier that women's health services under the Department of Health (DH) would be integrated into the PHC Commission, with a phased establishment of three WWSs in Hong Kong, Kowloon, and New Territories to strengthen the multidisciplinary primary healthcare service network. The WWS (Hong Kong) will be the first to commence operation. It is located on 2/F, Chai Wan Health Centre, 1 Hong Man Street, Chai Wan (the original site of the Chai Wan Woman Health Centre (WHC) under the DH) with a total floor area of about 380 square metres. It is equipped with a health promotion and education room, doctor and nurse consultation rooms, and health assessment rooms, etc. The WWS (Hong Kong) will open six days a week with a minimum of eight hours of service per day, and will also operate until 8pm two days a week to provide greater flexibility for users.
As for the WWS (Kowloon) located in Lam Tin and the WWS (New Territories) in Tuen Mun, they are expected to commence operation in September. To facilitate public access to the relevant women's health services, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, the operator of the WWS, will establish two transitional service points in Yau Ma Tei and North Point before the WWS (Kowloon) and WWS (New Territories) commence operation. These two service points will also commence operation next Thursday (June 12). After the commencement of the WWS (Kowloon) and WWS (New Territories), the PHC Commission will assess service needs with the operator and phase out the two WWS service points at an appropriate time. The addresses of the three WWSs and the two WWS service points are listed in Annex 1.
WWS to provide more personalised primary healthcare services for women
The WHCs and designated Maternal and Child Health Centres under the DH have ceased accepting new appointments for women's health services starting from January 24 this year. Those who have already made appointments or have paid their annual fee and are still within the service period will continue to receive relevant services from the DH. Going forward, the specific health needs of women will be addressed by the WWSs, which will offer more personalised primary healthcare services for women. Healthcare professionals will provide basic women's health services to eligible women, including health assessments, individual consultations, cervical and breast cancer screenings as well as dedicated nurse clinic services. When necessary, cases will be referred to family doctors for follow up. The WWSs will also provide health education and counselling services on topics such as menstrual health, sexual health, menopausal health counselling, breast health, incontinence prevention education and pelvic floor muscle training. In addition to the standard services, the WWSs are expected to introduce value-added services in phases starting from the third quarter of this year, with details to be announced later.
WWS services will adopt a co-payment model, where eligible individuals will receive a partial subsidy from the Government. They will also be required to pay a designated co-payment fee to encourage citizens to take primary responsibility for managing their own health. The co-payment fees for standard services of WWS are set out in Annex 2.
Registration for WWS services does not require a doctor's referral. Women aged 64 or below who wish to use the services must first register as members of the District Health Centres/Expresses (DHCs/DHCEs). The DHCs/DHCEs will arrange health risk and basic women's health assessments and also family doctor pairing, and arrange for them to receive services at WWSs as needed. As of June 1, over 680 women have received preliminary assessments through the DHCs/DHCEs, with more than 600 women having been arranged to receive services at the WWSs. For more information, members of the public can visit the WWS website (www.dhc.gov.hk/en/wws.html).
Expansion of preventive screening services in General Out-patient Clinics
To address the preventive and screening needs of underprivileged groups, the DHCs/DHCEs will arrange for women who are Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients or granted full or partial medical fee waivers by the Hospital Authority (HA) to receive the same preventive care and health promotion services for women at seven selected HA General Out-patient Clinics (see Annex 3).
PHC Commission promulgates Reference Framework for women to promote evidence-based preventive care
Apart from establishing the WWSs, the PHC Commission formulated and published the Hong Kong Reference Framework on Life Course Preventive Care for Women in Primary Healthcare in February this year to continuously enhance the quality of primary healthcare services. The Reference Framework provides clear guidelines for primary healthcare service providers, promoting evidence-based preventive care to help women identify and address potential health issues at different life stages as soon as possible, thereby improving their ability to manage their own health.
Ends/Thursday, June 5, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:23
Issued at HKT 12:23
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