Following is a question by the Hon Chan Chun-ying and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (September 10):

Question:

     The Department of Health has 18 Elderly Health Centres (EHCs) in Hong Kong. Elderly aged 65 and above can be enrolled as members of EHCs. However, it is learnt that the current waiting time for membership is relatively long. As at June this year, these 18 centres were still processing applications submitted in 2023 or earlier. On the other hand, to minimise service duplication, the Primary Healthcare Commission plans to migrate EHC services to District Health Centres (DHCs) in various districts in phases. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the following information about the EHC in various districts in each of the past three years: the number of membership applications received, the number of new members and total membership, the average waiting time for membership applications, and the average waiting time for major services such as health screening, medical treatment, injection and dressing;

(2) whether it has examined the reasons for the lengthy processing time for membership applications at EHCs; whether it has taken measures to enhance the speed and efficiency of processing membership applications; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) of the timetable and transitional arrangements for migrating EHC services to DHCs?

Reply:

President,

     To enhance the health of the people of Hong Kong, improve healthcare protection and quality, and capitalise on our healthcare professions' strengths, as announced in "The Chief Executive's 2024 Policy Address", the Government will conduct a comprehensive review on the positioning and objectives of the healthcare system, which will cover the reforming of functions and division of work among the Department of Health (DH), the Hospital Authority (HA), and the Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission) as well as strengthening health promotion and disease prevention in primary healthcare. The DH will gradually transfer its specialist and primary healthcare services to the HA and the PHC Commission respectively, so as to concentrate its resources to strengthen its regulatory affairs and health protection, etc. Amongst others, the PHC Commission will start preparing for the service integration of the DH's Elderly Health Centres (EHCs) into the district health network in phases, with a view to enhancing service synergy and making appropriate arrangements to meet the needs of the elderly.

     In consultation with the DH, the reply by the Health Bureau to the question raised by the Hon Chan Chun-ying are as follows:

(1) and (2) At present, the DH has established an EHC in each of the 18 districts in Hong Kong to provide integrated primary healthcare services, including health assessment, counselling, health education and curative treatment, to persons aged 65 or above from a family medicine perspective. All persons aged 65 or above are eligible for enrolling as members of the EHC at any EHC.

     Meanwhile, the Government has set up District Health Centres (DHCs) or DHC Expresses (hereinafter collectively referred to as DHCs) across all 18 districts of Hong Kong in 2022. Currently, the DHCs provide services to all members of the public (including the elderly), including provision of health risk factors assessments, development of personalised health plans, signing up for the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme, family doctor pairing, and arrangements for dedicated nurse clinics and/or allied health services.

     The number of new membership applications received annually by each EHC in the past three years are as shown in the table below. The number of new applications has shown a declining trend in view of factors such as the establishment of the DHCs and the elderly's preference for receiving health assessments and services at the DHCs.
 

EHC	Number of new applications
	2022	2023	2024
Sai Ying Pun	1 053	778	498
Shau Kei Wan	841	884	537
Wan Chai	1 505	1 024	778
Aberdeen	787	578	344
Nam Shan	744	640	352
Lam Tin	1 043	601	396
Yau Ma Tei	551	591	337
San Po Kong	378	553	325
Kowloon City	969	436	283
Lek Yuen	1 766	1 167	889
North District	973	723	414
Tseung Kwan O	1 348	870	691
Tai Po	708	835	626
Tung Chung	666	628	363
Tsuen Wan	702	659	484
Tuen Mun Wu Hong	1 187	652	456
Kwai Shing	560	518	206
Yuen Long	702	607	331
Total	16 483	12 744	8 310

     The number of new enrolments (i.e. the number of individuals undergoing first health assessments during the year) and the total number of enrolments (i.e. the number of individuals who have undergone health assessments during the year, excluding the number of members who have not undergone health assessments during the year) of various EHCs in the past three years are as shown in the table below.
 

EHC	Number of new enrolments			Total number of enrolments
	2022	2023	2024	2022	2023	2024
Sai Ying Pun	450	615	326	1 382	1 999	1 811
Shau Kei Wan	539	708	340	1 537	2 260	1 779
Wan Chai	729	585	339	2 466	1 748	1 809
Aberdeen	326	479	335	1 390	1 944	1 764
Nam Shan	458	551	329	1 488	2 111	1 822
Lam Tin	479	577	373	1 661	2 145	1 841
Yau Ma Tei	401	192	265	1 627	2 244	1 686
San Po Kong (Note)	28	560	326	80	1 903	1 751
Kowloon City	121	475	331	609	1 895	1 824
Lek Yuen	573	369	339	1 674	1 102	1 799
North District	454	648	309	1 531	2 249	1 749
Tseung Kwan O	620	681	334	2 051	2 135	1 824
Tai Po	468	615	322	1 346	1 613	1 775
Tung Chung	398	515	308	1 593	2 203	1 684
Tsuen Wan	414	606	330	1 510	2 154	1 824
Tuen Mun Wu Hong	687	642	327	2 527	1 932	1 814
Kwai Shing	463	506	271	1 388	1 531	1 695
Yuen Long	399	534	262	1 513	2 043	1 640
Total	8 007	9 858	5 766	27 373	35 211	31 891

Note: Due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, all EHCs underwent multiple service adjustments from 2020 to early 2023 to redeploy staff from different grades to support epidemic prevention and control. Amongst others, in view of the activation of designated clinics at Robert Black General Out-patient Clinic by the HA, based on infection control considerations at the time of the epidemic, San Po Kong EHC which was situated at the same location with the designated clinic was temporarily closed in the period from February 26, 2022, to February 5, 2023.

     The median waiting time for the first health assessment at various EHCs over the past three years is as shown in the table below. The median refers to the time the elderlies have taken to become a member and receive the first health assessment on the day since they first submitted the application.
 

EHC	Median waiting time for the first health assessment (in months)
	2022	2023	2024
Sai Ying Pun	23.6	22.3	31.2
Shau Kei Wan	17.7	18.5	24.3
Wan Chai	33.7	30.6	38.9
Aberdeen	21.1	23.1	28.9
Nam Shan	13.3	14.8	20.0
Lam Tin	19.5	19.9	27.1
Yau Ma Tei	24.6	27.4	34.5
San Po Kong	--	25.9	33.0
Kowloon City	21.7	24.9	31.9
Lek Yuen	32.5	33.7	43.6
North District	19.1	20.4	27.1
Tseung Kwan O	17.6	19.7	27.1
Tai Po	42.7	43.0	43.8
Tung Chung	17.7	16.8	23.3
Tsuen Wan	18.1	23.3	27.5
Tuen Mun Wu Hong	43.2	42.1	44.7
Kwai Shing	17.0	15.5	17.2
Yuen Long	38.6	33.6	38.3
Median	21.1	23.2	30.1

     The number of new enrolments and total number of enrolments at the EHCs both declined significantly in 2024. Meanwhile, the median waiting time for the first health assessment was notably longer at most EHCs in 2024. Key factors contributing to the longer median waiting time in that year include the backlog of applications accumulated during the COVID-19 epidemic when the EHCs could only provide limited services from January 2020 to February 2023. Additionally, although services at the EHCs resumed normal starting from February 2023, the accumulated backlog of waiting applications and the persistent shortage of the DH's medical staff have impacted the service capacity. This has also contributed to the decline in both the number of new enrolments and the total number of enrolments in 2024. 

     In addition to discussing service integration of EHCs into the district health network in phases with the PHC Commission, the DH has also recruited additional contract doctors to strengthen staffing capacity. The DH will continue to closely monitor the situation.

(3) Considering the current service capacity of the EHCs, there is a need for the Government to transform its service model to allow for better utilisation of community-based primary healthcare resources, enhance service efficiency, and respond to the pressing healthcare demands arising from an ageing population.

     To strengthen primary healthcare services in Hong Kong, the Government released the Primary Healthcare Blueprint (the Blueprint) in December 2022, setting out a series of reform initiatives. The Blueprint recommends that, in line with the development of the district-based, family-centric community health system, certain primary healthcare services under the DH, including the EHCs, be migrated to the primary healthcare system in a progressive and orderly manner. The migration aims to develop a community healthcare system that provides holistic and comprehensive primary healthcare services and utilises resources in a more effective manner. To implement the policy directions and related measures for primary healthcare set out in the Blueprint and the Chief Executive's 2024 Policy Address, the PHC Commission will further expand the multidisciplinary primary healthcare service network with DHCs as hub through service integration.

     The PHC Commission plans to commence preparations in phases starting from 2025-26 for the service integration of EHCs under the DH into the district health network, with a view to enhancing service synergy and better addressing the elderly's demand for primary healthcare services. The PHC Commission and the DH will announce the service migration arrangements in due course.

Ends/Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Issued at HKT 17:10

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