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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