The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, together with the Permanent Secretary for Health, Mr Thomas Chan, and the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, met with board members and executives of the Hospital Authority (HA) today (December 21), introducing and listening to their views on various healthcare-related policy initiatives in "The Chief Executive's 2022 Policy Address".
The Policy Address covers eight policy areas related to the healthcare policy initiatives, including primary healthcare, public hospital services, healthcare manpower supply, development of Chinese medicine, mental health, tobacco control, healthcare co-operation with the Mainland, as well as prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Professor Lo said, "The Policy Address mentions that the Government will revamp the healthcare system. The aim is to shift the emphasis of the healthcare system from its current treatment-oriented, hospital-based structure to a prevention-focused, community-based system. The Health Bureau (HHB) just released the Primary Healthcare Blueprint this Monday (December 19). The Blueprint focuses on rolling out a series of reform measures to strengthen Hong Kong's primary healthcare services, improve the overall health status of the population, prevent overburdening the specialist services of public hospitals, and build a sustainable healthcare system.
"At the same time, we will also work hand in hand with the HA to improve the quality and efficiency of public medical services, including further management of the waiting time for specialist out-patient clinics by adopting a multi-pronged approach, improve patient experience, and strengthen medical infrastructure, etc. In order to ensure that sufficient healthcare manpower is available to deliver various healthcare services to members of the public, we will also increase the supply of manpower and strengthen the training for healthcare professionals.
"I would like to express gratitude to the Chairman of the HA, Mr Henry Fan, and other board members for their continuous support to the policies of the HHB; as well as their valuable advice and establishment of key performance indicators in relation to the healthcare-related policy initiatives in the Policy Address. The Government will continue to work hand in hand with the relevant stakeholders to provide highly effective and quality healthcare services to citizens, with a view to building a healthy and vibrant Hong Kong."
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