Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ12: Chinese medicine out-patient clinics
Following is a question by the Hon Michael Mak and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, in the Legislative Council today (December 4):
Question :
The Administration announced in October last year its plan that the Hospital Authority ("HA") would set up 18 Chinese medicine out-patient clinics in various districts by the end of 2005, with the first to be set up in 2002-03. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the detailed arrangements of the above plan, including the timetable for setting up the clinics, as well as the location, number of staff and supporting facilities in respect of each clinic, etc.;
(b) of HA's annual expenditure on providing the new services; and
(c) as the HA will be in deficit this financial year, how the Administration will help it seek funding for the plan?
Answer :
We plan to provide Chinese medicine out-patient services with a view to promoting the development of Chinese medicine practice through clinical research, systematising the knowledge base of Chinese medicine, developing standards in Chinese medicine practice and developing models of interface between western and Chinese medicine.
(a) The Chinese medicine out-patient clinics will be set up in phases, with the first one commencing operation in early 2003. These clinics will be attached to hospitals or health centres in various parts of the territory to facilitate patients' attendance. The Hospital Authority (HA) is discussing with the hospital clusters, the universities and the non-government organisations to decide on the precise distribution and location of the clinics.
The Chinese medicine clinics will be manned by a team of multi-disciplinary staff, comprising Chinese medicine practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, dispensers and other supporting staff. The number of staff in each clinic may vary, depending on the scale of operation considered suitable for individual clusters.
Each clinic will have a number of consultation and treatment rooms, a pharmacy, a workshop and an office with ancillary facilities. A Chinese medicine information system will also be set up in each clinic to facilitate service operation and record management.
(b) As the proposed Chinese medicine out-patient service will be implemented in phases, HA's annual expenditure for providing the new service will vary from year to year, depending on the number of clinics in operation during a year. HA is working out a detailed budget for the provision of this service.
(c) Government has earmarked the funding needed for the operational model proposed for the Chinese medicine clinics, which is in addition to that for subventing HA's existing services.
END/Wednesday, December 4, 2002
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