The Health, Welfare and Food Bureau is responsible for, among other things,
formulating policies and allocating resources for the running of Hong Kong's health
services. It also oversees the implementation of these policies to protect and promote
public health, provide lifelong holistic healthcare to every citizen of Hong Kong, and
ensure that no one is denied adequate medical treatment through lack of means.
The Department of Health is the Government's health adviser and agency to
execute healthcare policies and statutory functions. It safeguards the community's
health through a range of promotional, preventive, curative and rehabilitative
services.
The Hospital Authority is a statutory body established in 1990 under the Hospital
Authority Ordinance to provide public hospital and related services. It offers medical
treatment and rehabilitation services to patients through hospitals, specialist clinics,
general outpatient clinics, and outreaching services that are administratively
organised into seven clusters together covering the whole of Hong Kong.
The Health and Medical Development Advisory Committee, chaired by the
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, has 12 members drawn from different sectors
of the community. Its role is to review regularly the way healthcare services are
provided in Hong Kong and to draw up a long-term plan for maintaining and
financing quality services. In July 2005, the Committee issued a discussion paper on
the desired future healthcare service delivery model, which won wide public support.
Its key recommendations included:
(a) |
paying greater attention to primary health care and promoting the family doctor concept; |
(b) |
more collaboration and cooperation between the public and private sectors and focusing the public sector in its priority areas; |
(c) |
caring for the elderly, patients with chronic diseases, and patients in the rehabilitation stage in the community as far as possible; and |
(d) |
making use of information technology to establish a territory-wide electronic patient record system. |
The recommendations in the discussion paper are being gradually taken in hand
and implemented. Issues related to healthcare reform and financing arrangements are
now being studied with a view to initiating public consultation in 2007.
|