Hospital Authority welcomes “The Chief Executive’s 2021 Policy Address”
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) Chairman, Mr Henry Fan, welcomed the healthcare initiatives in "The Chief Executive's 2021 Policy Address" delivered by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (October 6), which enhance the quality of public healthcare services and the support for patients.
Mr Fan said he was delighted that the Government has continued to support the HA to enhance manpower and hardware, promote public hospital expansion and redevelopment projects, and commission more beds and services. The HA will optimise resources to continue to implement different initiatives, such as the arrangement of extending employment beyond the retirement age and enhancing promotion opportunities for healthcare workers, strengthening training and the professional development structure to retain staff and attract more people to join public hospitals.
The HA concurred with the Government's strategy to promote primary healthcare. The HA will render full support and will work with the Food and Health Bureau to formulate a blueprint for the sustainable development of primary healthcare services, and will continue to enhance medical-social collaboration to relieve the pressure on public healthcare services.
Mr Fan said, "To tie in with the Government's strategy to encourage big data application, the HA will assist more research institutes to access healthcare data so as to enhance the quality and sustain the competitiveness of healthcare services in Hong Kong. The HA will also continue to implement smart hospital initiatives to bolster the capability and promote sustainability of public healthcare services."
The HA welcomed, and will fully co-operate with the Government on, the enhanced development of clinical trials. The HA established a Central Institutional Review Board in April 2021 to streamline the protocol for inter-cluster clinical trial ethics review. The HA will continue to expand genetics and genomic services to enhance support for patients with uncommon disorders and genetic disorders.
With the support from the Government, the HA will continue to enhance the general out-patient and specialist out-patient services; strengthen support for elderly, chronic disease and cancer patients, including increasing cancer diagnostic and treatment service capacity and recruiting additional case managers; and enhance psychiatric in-patient, child and adolescent and community psychiatric services. Moreover, public hospitals will enhance the treatment of surgery and orthopaedic operations through the support of modern technology.
Mr Fan expressed thanks for the Government's support for public healthcare services. The HA will strive to implement the above-mentioned measures for the benefit of patients.