Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ18: Public healthcare services in Kowloon
Following is a question by the Hon Wu Chi-wai and a written reply by the
Acting Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, in the
Legislative Council today (October 23):
Question:
According to a paper submitted by the Government to this Council in July
this year, the Government plans to build a major acute hospital in the
Kai Tak Development Area and will review the positioning of Our Lady of
Maryknoll Hospital (OLMH) in Wong Tai Sin for drawing up its
redevelopment plan. Besides, it is learnt that while the Government has
earlier earmarked lands for building clinics at the site on Anderson
Road for public housing development and in Yau Tong, the relevant plans
are not yet finalised and the Government has recently considered
re-designating the clinic site in Yau Tong for public housing use. In
this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the progress in planning for the proposed hospital to be built in
the Kai Tak Development Area, and the expected dates for finalisation of
the relevant planning and submission of the funding proposals to this
Council;
(b) whether the review of the positioning of OLMH has commenced and when
its redevelopment plan is expected to be finalised; of the authorities'
plans to improve OLMH's services before its redevelopment is completed;
(c) of the number of land lots earmarked for building public hospitals
or clinics in the past 10 years, and the number of those lots on which
the related healthcare facilities have been built, with a breakdown by (i)
the location of the lot, (ii) the date on which the lot was earmarked
for healthcare facilities, (iii) the type of facility, (iv) site area,
and (v) the current situation of the lot (such as whether the land use
had been changed, or hospitals/clinics have been built on the land,
etc.);
(d) whether the authorities have commenced the planning work for
building the clinic at Anderson Road; if so, of the details and when the
construction works are expected to commence; if not, when the relevant
planning work is expected to commence; and
(e) given that the population in Kowloon East and the Kai Tak
Development Area has been increasing, of the measures to be taken by the
authorities next year for improving the out-patient and other healthcare
services in the area?
Reply:
President,
As the cornerstone of Hong Kong's healthcare system and the safety net
for all, the public healthcare system ensures that no one would be
denied healthcare service because of lack of means. At present, the
Department of Health (DH) and the Hospital Authority (HA) provide
holistic public healthcare services in Kowloon East region (including
Wong Tai Sin district and Kwun Tong district). The DH operates six
maternal and child health centres, one woman health centre, one child
assessment centre, three student health service centres, two elderly
health centres, one school dental clinic, two chest clinics, one
radiodiagnostic and imaging centre, one skin clinic, one social hygiene
clinic, four methadone clinics, an education and training centre in
family medicine, as well as Kowloon Bay Integrated Treatment Centre and
Red Ribbon Centre under the Special Preventive Programme. The HA
operates four hospitals and 11 general out-patient (GOP) clinics in
Kowloon East.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(a) The HA has a proactive plan to build a new acute general hospital in
the Kai Tak Development (KTD) area to provide clinical services of major
specialists, including accident and emergency services. We have already
reserved a site in the KTD area for this purpose. The HA is conducting
the relevant strategic planning, taking into consideration various
factors, among others, the pace of population growth and ageing in the
district, changes in service mode, advancement in medical technology and
new development in medical services, so as to provide medical services
which can better meet the long-term service demand in the area. It is
expected that service planning and technical feasibility study will be
completed next year. We will seek funding approval in accordance with
the established procedures, with a view to implementing the development
plan for the construction of the Kai Tak Hospital as soon as possible.
(b) The HA is reviewing and assessing the overall demand for and supply
of healthcare services in Kowloon for related planning work to meet the
healthcare service needs in the long run. The review includes evaluating
and assessing the role and long-term development directions of Our Lady
of Maryknoll Hospital (OLMH). The HA expects that the review and
planning work will be completed in mid-2014. By then, the HA will
formulate the redevelopment plan of the OLMH according to its long-term
development directions so as to ensure provision of appropriate medical
services for the local community.
To ensure that the OLMH provides a safe and comfortable environment as
well as quality healthcare services for patients, the HA has been
allocating resources to upgrade its facilities and equipment. As regards
hospital facilities, the HA has used about $32 million from 2010 to 2013
to enhance the facilities of the OLMH. The works carried out include
improvement of the mechanical ventilation and air conditioning system in
operating theatres, replacement of the automatic fire alarm system, etc.
As for clinical services, the HA has provided an additional recurrent
expenditure of $50 million (excluding annual pay adjustment) to the OLMH
since 2009-10 for improvement and enhancement of day surgery service,
general out-patient service, discharged support for elders, community
care service, hospice service and community outreach service for the
elderly in Wong Tai Sin District, etc. In addition, a computed
tomography scanner has been installed in the OLMH to provide more
appropriate services for the local residents.
(c) Over the years, the Administration has been planning and reserving
suitable sites for hospitals and clinics to support the development of
Hong Kong. Many of these facilities have been completed and
commissioned.
In accordance with the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, in
planning for new development areas, the Administration reserve sites for
community facilities such as hospitals/clinics/health centres having
regard to the planned population to meet the community needs in the long
run. GOP clinics and health centres provided under the "Government,
Institution or Community" sites can be developed on a standalone basis
or together with other community facilities as joint-user buildings.
In planning for the provision of public healthcare services, the
Administration takes into account a number of factors including the
projected service demand for healthcare services vis-a-vis population
growth and demographic changes, the growth rate of individual services,
possible changes in healthcare services delivery model, etc. After
assessing such factors, if a district has a pressing need for
strengthening the provision of public healthcare services but no site
has yet been reserved for the purpose, the Administration will consider
developing the public healthcare service facilities jointly with other
community facilities to meet local demand. Where appropriate, after
conducting detailed assessments of the public healthcare facilities in
the district, the Administration may also consider releasing site(s)
reserved for healthcare purposes to other government departments to
address prevailing demands of the community.
As the planning of public healthcare services varies in accordance with
a number of dynamic factors, the Administration will continue to monitor
closely the needs for such services, with a view to providing adequate
healthcare services for the general public.
(d) and (e) With the commencement of the Developments at Anderson Road
and the Anderson Road Quarry, the Government has taken steps to increase
the public healthcare services in the Kowloon East region. Under the
redevelopment of Kwun Tong town centre, the DH and HA have increased the
operational floor area of the maternal and child health centre and the
GOP clinic in reprovisioning the Kwun Tong Jockey Club Health Centre so
as to cope with the increased population.
In addition, Phase II of the Ngau Tau Kok Jockey Club GOP Clinic project
is underway to increase the service capacity and the project is expected
to complete in 2014-15. Through recruiting additional staff, the HA has
increased the consultation capacity of the GOP clinics under the Kowloon
East cluster by about 65 000 in 2012-13.
Since a large number of GOP clinics in Kwun Tong are located along the
Mass Transit Railway alignment and can be easily accessed by different
modes of public transport, it will be more speedy and cost effective to
enhance service provision by carrying out expansion and improvement
works in these clinics. As such, we do not have any plan to set up new
GOP clinic in Yau Tong and Anderson Road areas at this stage.
Apart from enhancing GOP services, the HA will also strengthen the
services provided by the Kowloon East and the Kowloon Central hospital
clusters in the coming year so as to cope with the demand for healthcare
services of Kowloon East region and the KTD area.
As far as the Kowloon East cluster is concerned, the completion of
Tseung Kwan O Hospital New Ambulatory Block and related medical
facilities in 2012 will enhance the medical service provision in the
coming years. In 2013-14, around 100 additional beds will be provided in
Tsueng Kwan O Hospital and Haven of Hope Hospital to enhance in-patient
service. Besides, the management of the waiting lists of specialist
out-patient clinics will be improved by setting up a new case clinic and
conducting additional doctor sessions to expedite the processing of new
cases. The HA will implement extended-hour emergency Percutaneous
Coronary Intervention services in United Christian Hospital and expand
the capacity of ambulatory chemotherapy service and haemodialysis
service for patients with heart disease, cancer and end-stage renal
disease. Mental health services will also be strengthened. Community
care will be enhanced by providing case management service for patients
with severe mental illness living in the Sai Kung District. Recovery
oriented treatment programmes will be provided in psychiatric admission
wards. In addition, an autologous haemopoietic stem cell transplant
(HSCT) centre will be set up in the Kowloon East cluster to expedite
HSCT services provided for patients requiring bone marrow transplant.
Services of various departments under the Kowloon Central cluster will
also be strengthened. An acute stroke ward will be opened in Queen
Elizabeth Hospital and the 24-hour thrombolytic service will be further
consolidated to improve management of patients with acute ischaemic
stroke. The waiting time for emergency operation and cancer surgery will
be shortened through additional operating theatre sessions. Neonatal and
paediatric surgery will be reinforced through the provision of 24-hour
on-site consultation and emergency surgical support. One additional
intensive care bed will be provided to enhance the management of
critically ill patients. Facilities of psychiatric admission wards will
be improved and recovery oriented treatment programmes will be
implemented to enhance the provision of mental health services.
Moreover, the Hong Kong Eye Hospital will improve the Eye Tissue Bank
services and enhance the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor
treatment provided for new age-related macular degeneration cases.
Ends/Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Issued at HKT 14:46
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