    A woman who went missing in Mong Kok has been located.     Chan Siu-ping, aged 62, went missing after she left her residence in Lok Kwan Street on June 13 morning. Her family made a report to Police on June 27.     The woman was lo… read more
Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations: Please broadcast the following message as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals: As the Standby Signal No.1 has been issued, the Marine Department remi… read more
Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:
Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals:
As Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 3 has been cancelled, the Home Affairs Department’s emergency hotline 2572 8427 has ceased to operate. read more
The Labour Department (LD) today (July 18) reminded employers to make practical and reasonable work arrangements for staff after tropical cyclone and rainstorm warnings. Employers should also make flexible arrangements for staff to resume work or work from home (if applicable) after a tropical cyclone or rainstorm warning is cancelled, with due consideration to road and traffic conditions and other factors. This will help maintain good labour-management relations and ensure the safety of employees and the smooth operation of establishments.
“For staff who have practical difficulties in resuming work on time upon the cancellation of a tropical cyclone or rainstorm warning, employers should give due consideration to the situations of individual employees and handle each case flexibly. For example, employers may permit employees who have difficulties in returning to workplaces to work from home or allow more time for them to report for duty and resume work,” an LD spokesman said.
“As typhoons and rainstorms are natural occurrences that cannot be avoided, for employees who are not able to report for duty or resume work on time due to adverse weather conditions, employers should not withhold their wages, good attendance bonuses or allowances without reasons. Employers should enquire into the reasons and give due consideration to the exceptional circumstances in each case and should not penalise or dismiss the employee concerned rashly,” he said.
The spokesman also reminded employers to observe the statutory liabilities and requirements under the Employment Ordinance, the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance, the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance and the Minimum Wage Ordinance.
Employers should not deduct annual leave, statutory holidays or rest days to which employees are entitled under the Employment Ordinance to compensate for the loss of working hours resulting from employees’ failure to report for duty when Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or the Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is in force or when the post-super typhoon “extreme conditions” exist. An employer who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with the relevant provisions under the Employment Ordinance is liable to prosecution.
Employers should also note that they have an obligation to provide and maintain a safe working environment for their employees under the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance.
The LD has published the “Code of Practice in Times of Typhoons and Rainstorms”, which provides a reference for employers and employees on the work and resumption of work arrangements in the event of the Government making the post-super typhoon “extreme conditions” announcement, as well as the major principles, the framework, the reference guidelines and information on relevant legislation for reference in drawing up the work arrangements under adverse weather conditions. The booklet can be obtained from branch offices of the Labour Relations Division or downloaded from the department’s webpage (www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/Rainstorm.pdf). read more
Regarding a media report on the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme (CDCC Scheme) published today (July 17), the Health Bureau (HHB) reiterated that the CDCC Scheme targets citizens aged 45 or above who are not aware of having hypertension, diabetes mellitus or related symptoms. By providing subsidy to cover part of the costs as an incentive, the Government aims to encourage citizens to receive early screening in order to get better understanding of their own health status, so as to achieve the objectives of preventing diseases before occurrence, and managing diseases at an early stage.
The HHB is concerned about the media report that an elderly person who was hospitalised twice for high blood pressure but had not continued her medical treatment and follow-up consultation at a General Out-patient Clinic (GOPC). As the patient already had a medical history of hypertension and had received appropriate treatment during her two stays in hospitals, she would not be a target participant of the screening service provided under the CDCC Scheme. The media concerned did not consult the HHB about this case beforehand. By the sketchy information provided in the report, the HHB is unable to verify the information and extend assistance to this particular elderly person so that she can receive proper medical follow-up as early as possible. The media report may be misleading and may give rise to public misunderstanding about chronic disease treatment and the CDCC Scheme.
The CDCC Scheme is the first significant project launched under the Primary Healthcare Blueprint, with a view to preventing worsening of chronic disease and occurrence of complication through early identification and early treatment. It concerns the wellbeing of the general public and the sustainability of the healthcare system. The HHB strives to explain the CDCC Scheme to stakeholders and members of the public, and listen to the views of all parties. At the same time, the Government expects that the media would actively disseminate correct messages and reflect views accurately by adhering to the principles of meticulousness, accuracy and impartiality when reporting on subjects of close relevance to the health of the members of the public.
All Hong Kong residents aged 45 or above can join the CDCC Scheme. To encourage citizens to take up primary responsibility for managing their own health, the CDCC Scheme adopts a Government-participant co-payment model. Apart from the Government’s subsidies, participating citizens are also required to bear partial costs as a way to shoulder the responsibility for their own health. The tentative levels of the Government’s subsidies and participants’ co-payments are stated at Annex.
The HHB reiterated that the public healthcare system would continue to be the basic safety net for grassroots, in particular the socially disadvantaged groups. Persons with financial difficulties (including recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and Old Age Living Allowance) will continue to enjoy the protection of the safety net under the public healthcare system comprising services provided by parties such as the Hospital Authority (HA) and the Department of Health. The introduction of the CDCC Scheme will not affect the appropriate healthcare services provided for the grassroots citizens under the public healthcare system.
Enhancing primary healthcare services will help alleviate the pressure on the secondary and tertiary healthcare services in the long run. In fact, a crucial factor leading to the growing pressure on public healthcare services is the imbalance between primary healthcare services and the secondary and tertiary healthcare services. Cross-specialties collaboration and public-private partnership have yet to attain their desired level of efficiency while quite a number of non-urgent cases of relative stable condition have not been effectively triaged back to primary healthcare or family doctors for more efficient, suitable and effective follow-up.
While introducing the CDCC Scheme, the Government will gradually reposition the service of HA’s GOPCs with a view to optimising the use of public resources. According to the recommendations set out in the Primary Healthcare Blueprint, the HA’s GOPCs should prioritise to serve the socially disadvantaged groups, in particular low-income families and poor elderly. Through the CDCC Scheme, citizens with better financial capability can be triaged to family doctors in the private healthcare sector for health management, thereby alleviating the pressure on the public healthcare system and sparing its capacity to better serve citizens with financial needs. This will include exploring the inclusion of appropriate chronic disease screening and management services to the priority groups of socially disadvantaged groups in accordance with the clinical protocol and pathway of the CDCC Scheme after the repositioning of GOPC service. read more