Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ12: Dental care services
Following is a question by the Hon Albert Chan Wai-yip and a written
reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the
Legislative Council today (October 30):
Question:
I have learnt that many members of the public are currently suffering
from persistent dental problems, and quite a number of them are
low-income persons who are, nonetheless, ineligible for various
subsidies, such as the grant to cover dental treatment costs under the
Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, the subsidy for dental
services for the elderly under the Community Care Fund nor the Elderly
Health Care Voucher. Due to the inadequacy in public dental services,
they can seek treatment only in private dental clinics, which is a heavy
financial burden on them. In this connection, will the Government inform
this Council:
(a) whether it has assessed the number of adults in need of dental
treatment services; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for
that;
(b) whether it has assessed the number of members of the public who
cannot afford private dental treatment services; if it has, of the
details; if not, the reasons for that;
(c) whether it has assessed if the existing public dental services are
sufficient to meet public demand; if it has, of the details; if not, the
reasons for that; and
(d) whether it will consider enhancing public dental services, including
the introduction of ex-gratia allowances for elderly dental services and
increasing the number of public dental clinics, so that more members of
the public can receive inexpensive quality dental services; if it will,
of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government's policy on dental care seeks to raise public awareness
of oral hygiene and facilitate the development of proper oral health
habits through promotion and education, thereby improving public oral
health and preventing dental diseases. The Government has been
allocating resources primarily to promotion and preventive efforts. To
enhance the oral health of the public, the Oral Health Education Unit
(OHEU) of the Department of Health (DH) has, over the years, implemented
oral health promotion programmes targeted at different age groups and
disseminated oral health information through different channels.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(a) and (b) To help the Government formulate effective goals and
programmes on oral health, the DH is committed to conducting a
territory-wide oral health survey every ten years in accordance with the
criteria recommended by the World Health Organisation. According to the
territory-wide oral health survey in 2001, the oral health status and
gum condition of the adult population in Hong Kong had the same ranking
as, if not better than, its counterparts from most developed countries
in the world. The DH conducted another territory-wide oral health survey
between May 2011 and February 2012 to continuously monitor the oral
health status of specific groups and assess their oral health behaviours
and habits. The preliminary findings of the survey showed that the oral
health of Hong Kong population, in terms of tooth loss, was satisfactory
as compared with most developed countries. The oral health survey report
is expected to be completed in six months and the findings will be
useful for planning and assessing various oral health programmes.
(c) and (d) Apart from working on promotion and prevention, the
Government also provides emergency dental treatment for the public and
special oral care services for in-patients and persons with special oral
health care needs. Basic and preventive dental treatment is provided for
primary school students through the School Dental Care Service to help
them build up a good foundation in oral health and develop proper dental
care and cleaning habits.
At present, the DH provides free emergency dental services (generally
referred to as General Public Sessions) through its 11 government dental
clinics. Dental services provided in General Public Sessions include
treatment of acute dental diseases, prescription for pain relief,
treatment of oral abscess and teeth extraction. The dentists will also
give professional advice to patients with regard to their individual
needs. In addition, specialist oral maxillofacial surgery and dental
treatment are provided by the Oral Maxillofacial Surgery and Dental
Units (OMS&DUs) of the DH in seven public hospitals for the referred
in-patients as well as patients with special oral health care needs and
dental emergency. The specialist dental care services in OMS&DUs are
provided through referral. Members of the public in need of these
services may seek referrals by hospitals/out-patient clinics under the
Hospital Authority or any registered dentists or medical practitioners.
OMS&DUs will arrange appointments for them according to the urgency of
their conditions. Patients with emergency needs, such as cases of dental
trauma, will be provided with immediate consultation and treatment.
Currently, the Government does not have any plan to expand the public
dental services. Curative dental services are mainly provided by the
private sector and non-government organisations (NGOs). As at September
2013, there were about 2 100 registered dentists in Hong Kong serving
members of the public.
As for elderly people with financial difficulties, dental grants are
available under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA)
Scheme for recipients who are aged 60 or above, disabled or medically
certified to be in ill-health to pay for dental treatment services
(including tooth extraction, dentures, crowns, bridges, scaling and
polishing, fillings and root canal treatment). Eligible recipients can
approach the 57 dental clinics (including 2 mobile clinics) designated
by the Social Welfare Department (SWD), for dental examination and cost
estimation. They may choose to receive the relevant dental treatment
from either the designated dental clinics or any registered dentists at
non-designated dental clinics. The amount of grant payable will be based
on the exact fee charged by the non-designated clinic, the cost
estimated by the designated clinic or the ceiling set by the SWD,
whichever is the less.
As far as the elderly people are concerned, the Government has put in
place a series of measures in recent years to strengthen the dental
services provided for them. In 2009, the Administration launched the
Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme to provide financial subsidies for
elders aged 70 or above to use private primary healthcare services,
including dental services, within their neighbourhood. As at
mid-September 2013, a total of 392 dentists enrolled in the Scheme. The
annual voucher amount has been increased to $1,000 since January 1, 2013
and the Scheme will be converted from a pilot project into a recurrent
support programme for the elderly in 2014.
As elders residing in residential care homes (RCHEs) or receiving
services in day care centres (DEs) are generally physically weak with
frail conditions, the Government launched the three-year Pilot Project
on Outreach Primary Dental Care Services for the Elderly in RCHEs and
DEs (Pilot Project) in collaboration with NGOs in April 2011 to provide
these elders with free outreach primary dental care and oral health care
services. The Pilot Project is expected to provide services for about
100 000 attendances. We are actively considering its long-term
implementation.
The Community Care Fund (CCF) has also set aside $100 million for the
Elderly Dental Assistance Programme (programme) to subsidise low-income
and needy elders for dentures and related dental services. The programme
has been implemented since September 2012. The CCF Task Force under the
Commission on Poverty has been monitoring the implementation of the
programme. A working group has been set up to enhance the arrangements
of the programme and consider expanding the number of beneficiaries
progressively, taking into account the progress of implementation and
the experience gained, as well as the supply of local dentist manpower,
so that more elders who are facing financial difficulties and are not
recipients of CSSA will benefit.
We will continue our publicity and education efforts to improve the oral
health of the public.
Ends/Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:36
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