Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hoi-yan and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (October 22):

Question:

     The Government has set up District Health Centres (DHCs) and DHC Expresses (collectively referred to as "DHCs") in all 18 districts over the territory since 2019 to provide services such as chronic disease screening and management, as well as mental health assessments. It is learnt that the operating service contracts of some DHCs have gradually expired, and the Primary Healthcare Commission has conducted tenders again. In its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on March 26 this year, the Government advised that the Primary Healthcare Commission had adjusted the operating service contracts of DHCs, including adjusting the categorisation of service targets and adding new performance assessment indicators when entering into new or renewed operating service contracts with the operators, and was progressively enhancing the performance monitoring mechanism of DHCs to assess the performance of various DHCs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective status of achieving the service targets of each DHC prior to the adjustment to their operating service contracts in the past five years, and the assistance offered to or follow-up made with those DHCs that failed to meet the targets set by the Government;

(2) under the adjusted operating service contracts and performance monitoring mechanism, of the current status of each DHC in (i) achieving the service targets, (ii) meeting the performance assessment indicators, and (iii) various monitoring aspects under the performance monitoring mechanism; whether the Government has set a timetable for regularly reviewing the performance of DHCs in (i) to (iii), and providing appropriate assistance to or making follow-up with DHCs in the light of the outcome of the reviews; if so, the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) of the list of DHCs of which the contracts had expired since the launch of the first DHC, including (i) those with contracts renewed and (ii) those requiring open tender again and the reasons why the DHCs concerned were not granted contract renewal;

(4) since the launch of the first DHC, of the respective annual usages of (i) physiotherapy, (ii) occupational therapy, (iii) dietitian services, and (iv) pharmacy services at each DHC; and the respective average monthly usages of the new dedicated nurse clinic and allied health services since their introduction in January this year;

(5) given that the Healthy Mind Pilot Project (HMPP) has been launched at three DHCs since August 15 last year, of the number of members of the public who have undergone preliminary mental health assessments to date, and the respective numbers of those who were referred for low-intensity psychological therapy and those referred to Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness for follow-up; whether statistics have been compiled on the number of those who, after completing the said psychological therapy, subsequently have received psychological therapy again through HMPP or sought other public psychological therapy services;

(6) given that HMPP is running on a trial basis for 18 months from August last year to January next year, with less than half a year remaining before its conclusion, whether the Government has conducted a phased assessment of HMPP; if so, of the details; and

(7) whether the Government will consider incorporating more service target categorisation into the operating service contracts of DHCs, such as the provision of community pharmacies, eye examination services, and emotional health support; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that and the challenges involved?

Reply:

President,

     As primary healthcare resource hubs, District Health Centres and District Health Centre Expresses (collectively referred to as DHCs) provide services including chronic disease screening and management, family doctor pairing, health promotion, health risk assessment and community rehabilitation. 

     In consultation with the Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission), the replies to the respective parts of the question raised by the Hon Chan Hoi-yan are as follows:

(1), (2), (3) and (7) The PHC Commission stipulates facility and service requirements for each DHC, as specified in the operation service contract, including the qualifications and relevant experience of key staff, the districts and number of ancillary centres/service points to be set up, the staffing establishment of the centres and service volume targets. The DHC operators shall provide services in accordance with the operation service contract. The PHC Commission continuously monitors and evaluates the operators' performance, and will make timely recommendations to the operators for improvement, such as recommending increased outreach services and enhanced community publicity and promotion. The PHC Commission will take into account the relevant assessment results when considering contract renewal, with a view to encouraging the operators to continuously enhance service standards. The Government shall have the right to terminate the operation service contract if an operator fails to comply with the contract requirements.

     The three years of COVID-19 epidemic inevitably affected the preparatory work and commencement of the DHCs, as well as their progress in recruitment of members and service provision after commencement. At the initial stage, the DHCs also needed to operate for a certain period before they could accumulate membership numbers and increase service capacity. With the resumption of normalcy after the COVID-19 epidemic, coupled with the establishment of DHCs covering all 18 districts, the DHCs have been gradually building a primary healthcare service network which begins to take shape in the community. The DHCs assist in promoting the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme (CDCC Pilot Scheme) to reinforce the concept of "Family Doctor for All", and in strengthening women's health promotion and education through the three Women Wellness Satellites newly established this year, thereby further expanding the community primary healthcare network. The Government is expanding the Primary Care Directory in phases to cover more allied health professionals (sub-directories are developed for doctors, dentists, practising Chinese medicine practitioners, occupational therapists and physiotherapists currently), with a view to promoting multidisciplinary collaboration in providing comprehensive primary healthcare services to citizens. 

     As at June 30, 2025, the cumulative number of DHC members was more than 420 000. To strengthen the role of DHCs as the co-ordinators of community primary healthcare services and case managers, the PHC Commission has adjusted the terms of the operation service contracts of DHCs, including adjusting the categorisation of service targets, such as the pairing of family doctors with citizens and the provision of nurse clinic services, in order to tie in with the enhancement of DHC services. With the adjustments to contract requirements and the accumulation of operational experience of DHCs, the numbers of service attendances at all DHCs have continued to increase (see Annex I). All DHCs attained the service volume targets in 2024-25.
  
     The initial operation period of the District Health Centre operation service contracts is three years from the date of operation with an option for contract extension of up to further three years, whereas the initial operation period of the District Health Centre Express operation service contracts is three years with the option for multiple operation period extensions. The PHC Commission will, in accordance with the terms of the contract and subject to the performance of the operator, arrange for contract renewal or conduct an open tender exercise to identify an operator before the expiry of the initial operation period. Since the operation commencement of the first DHC, all DHCs whose initial operation periods have expired have had their contracts renewed or their operation periods extended. Among them, following the renewal of the Kwai Tsing District Health Centre's service contract, its six-year term (comprising an initial three-year operation period plus a three-year renewal period) has expired. Subsequently, the PHC Commission has conducted a new open tender exercise and awarded the operation service contract. Separately, in order to upgrade certain District Health Centre Expresses (including Central and Western District, Yau Tsim Mong District and Eastern District) into District Health Centres, the PHC Commission has conducted the open tender exercises and awarded the operation service contracts.

     The targets set under previous operation service contracts primarily focused on service volume. With the ongoing development and evolution of primary healthcare service models and scale, the PHC Commission has updated the classification of service targets when establishing new or renewed operational service contracts. These include drug advisory services, indicators for new members joining the CDCC Pilot Scheme, mental health promotion and education. Key service targets will be subject to particular monitoring. Depending on the progress of the construction works of the new District Health Centres in various districts or the expiry date of the current operation service contracts, the PHC Commission will enter into new or renewed operation service contracts with the operators. Currently, the operators of nine District Health Centres (including Central and Western District, Yau Tsim Mong, Eastern District, Kwai Tsing, Sham Shui Po, Tuen Mun, Wong Tai Sin, Yuen Long and Southern District) have signed new operation service contracts or renewed their contracts. 

(4) The PHC Commission has set Category 1 and Category 2 service targets (Note 1) for each DHC, including service volume target for different allied health disciplines (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetic services and pharmacist service attendances). The service model of each DHC may vary depending on the service demand of different districts. As such, the PHC Commission will monitor the performance and achievement of targets by individual DHC operators in accordance with the Category 1 and Category 2 service targets specified in the service contracts. The cumulative number of Category 1 and Category 2 service attendances for all DHCs as at 2024-25 is at Annex II.

     On January 20, 2025, the Government introduced dedicated nurse clinic and allied health services through strategic purchasing to offer a broader scope of healthcare services with better coherence to the CDCC Pilot Scheme participants. As at September 30, 2025 (provisional figures), about 11 800 service attendances have received the relevant dedicated nursing clinic and allied health services.
 

Service	Number of Attendances
Nurse Clinic	8 400
Optometrist	2 500
Physiotherapist	100
Dietitian	700
Total	11 800

Note 2: Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred, so the sum of individual items may not necessarily equal the grand total.

(5) and (6) At present, three DHCs (Tuen Mun District Health Centre, and Yau Tsim Mong District Health Centre Express and Eastern District Health Centre Express) have launched the Healthy Mind Pilot Project (Pilot Project) since August 2024, to offer free mental health assessments and follow-up for members of the public on a trial basis at the community level. 

     Currently, the Healthy Mind Pilot Project has been producing satisfactory results. As of September 30, 2025, the three designated DHCs have conducted preliminary mental health assessments for approximately 30 500 members of the public. Members preliminarily assessed to have mild symptoms of depression or anxiety will be recommended to service providers of the Pilot Project in the same district for follow-up by Wellbeing Practitioners who had received mental health training. Including members of the public who participated in the Pilot Project through activities organised by the service providers, about 4 900 individuals completed the further assessment. Of those eligible participants who consented to intervention, about 1 700 individuals are currently receiving or have completed low-intensity psychological intervention (LIPI). Among them, around 180 individuals required referral to specialist or high-intensity mental health services (such as Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness) for further follow-up. Additionally, among participants who completed LIPI, service data indicates that none subsequently re-enrolled in the Pilot Project for treatment. 

     As outlined in "The Chief Executive's 2025 Policy Address", the Government will extend the Pilot Project to cover six more DHCs in 2026 (i.e. a total of nine DHCs), with follow-up services provided by practitioners with an academic background and training in fields such as psychology or counselling. To ensure the smooth implementation of the Healthy Mind Pilot Project, the PHC Commission has established a working group responsible for the ongoing implementation of the Pilot Project.

Note 1: Category 1 service includes health promotion/education. Category 2 service includes health risk factor assessment, screening for diabetes mellitus and hypertension, chronic disease management, community rehabilitation and women's health services.

Ends/Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Issued at HKT 19:20

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