Wednesday, 15 January 2014

Hospital Authority welcomes Policy Address

The Chairman of the Authority (HA), Professor John Leong Chi-yan, welcomes the Government’s commitment in the health policy agenda of the Policy Address delivered by the Chief Executive at Legislative Council today (Wednesday, 15 January).

“To cope with the ageing population and ever-increasing demand, we will continue to ensure the efficient use of public resources in enhancing public hospital services and improving service quality through various new and ongoing initiatives,” Professor Leong remarked.

“The Authority is delighted to note the Government’s commencement of strategic planning for a new acute hospital in the Kai Tak Development Area to meet the long term healthcare needs of residents in .” This is alongside the construction underway for the new Hospital and Centre of Excellence in Paediatrics at Kai Tak, and the expansion and redevelopment of United Christian Hospital, , Queen Mary Hospital and .

Professor Leong added that HA noted and supports the Government’s plan to develop a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospital to provide more healthcare service options for patients and that it is also opportune that the 18th public TCM clinic jointly operated by HA, universities and non-government organisations will enter service this year.

Committed to continuous improvement in the provision of quality and effective services under the current twin-track healthcare system, Professor Leong said HA will support the work of the HA Review Steering Committee to ensure the long term sustainability of healthcare system.

“At the same time, HA will further collaborate with private healthcare providers in various public-private partnership (PPP) programmes, including the new General Out-patient Clinic PPP Programme to be piloted in three districts, and continuation of PPP projects in the provision of haemodialysis services for end stage renal disease patients, radiological investigation services for selected cancer patients and subsidised surgical operations for cataract patients.”

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To meet the high service demand, a total of 160 acute beds and seven beds in Intensive Care Unit and High Dependency Units will be added in the coming year, while radiological examinations will be enhanced including computer tomography scanning and ultrasound services to serve a total of 11,500 additional cases.

To address the issues of long waiting time, Accident & Emergency Departments will continue to provide additional support sessions during peak hours, and additional sessions will be provided to manage 4,700 new cases on the Specialist Outpatient Clinics waiting list.

Other key service improvement programmes of public in the coming year include enhancing treatment for the critically ill, elderly and infirmary patients. The HA Drug Formulary coverage will also be widened while case management programme will be extended to all districts to provide intensive community support for patients with severe mental illness.

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