Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ5: Provision of healthcare services for elderly people with hearing problems
Following is a question by the Professor Hon Joseph Lee and a written reply by
the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council
today (February 24):
Question:
According to a report released by the World Health Organization last year, about
one-third of elderly people (i.e. persons aged 65 or above) are suffering from
disabling hearing loss. It has been reported that some merchants, knowing well
that the continuous increase in the elderly population will bring about enormous
business opportunities, have set up audiology centres to offer hearing tests and
sell hearing aids to elderly people. Due to a lack of regulation, some audiology
centres sell hearing aids at fluctuating prices, and have not employed any
audiologist or audiology technician, with the work of conducting hearing tests,
drafting reports on hearing tests and fitting hearing aids for elderly people
being entrusted to salespersons only. As a result, some elderly people have
bought unsuitable yet expensive hearing aids, with their hearing impaired rather
than improved. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the current number of elderly people
with disabling hearing loss in Hong Kong; if it has, of the relevant figures; if
not, the reasons for that, and whether it will compile such statistics; whether
it has any targeted policy in place to provide assistance for such elderly
people; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) whether it knows if general outpatient clinics of the Hospital Authority
(HA) will arrange hearing tests, audiological treatment and fitting of hearing
aids for elderly people seeking consultations at such clinics; if such services
will be arranged, of the specific procedure and the average waiting time for
these three types of services at present; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) whether it knows the current respective (i) ratios of audiologists and
audiology technicians to the population, and (ii) numbers of these two types of
personnel employed by HA and the Department of Health; whether it has assessed
if there are now sufficient numbers of these two types of personnel in Hong
Kong; if it has and the assessment outcome is in the negative, whether it has
specific policies and measures in place to address the problem; if it does, of
the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) given that quite a number of elderly people lack the financial means to buy
hearing aids, which are sold at a price ranging from as high as several thousand
to several tens of thousand dollars, whether the authorities have plans to offer
subsidy to elderly people, and whether the costs for hearing tests and hearing
aids will be included (with no upper limit) in the scope of application of the
Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme to enhance the safety and quality of life of
elderly people; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the questions raised by Professor Hon Joseph Lee on the provision of
healthcare services for elderly people with hearing problems is as follows:
(1) and (2) According to a survey on persons with disabilities and chronic
diseases conducted by the Census and Statistics Department in 2013, there were
about 117 600 persons with hearing difficulty aged 65 or above. The definition
of "persons with hearing difficulty" includes those who perceived themselves as
having long-term difficulty in hearing or using specialised hearing aids or
rehabilitation tools at the time of survey.
Patients under the care of the general out-patient clinics (GOPCs) of the
Hospital Authority (HA) can be categorised into two major types, namely chronic
disease patients with stable medical conditions (such as those with diabetes
mellitus or hypertension etc.) and episodic disease patients with relatively
mild symptoms (such as those suffering from influenza, cold and
gastroenteritis). For patients with hearing difficulty, GOPC doctors will refer
them to the ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialty for follow-up according to
their clinical conditions and needs.
The ENT specialty of HA provides appropriate assessment and treatment for
persons with hearing difficulty. In 2015, HA provided audiological services to a
total of about 8 000 inpatient audiology attendances and 80 000 outpatient
audiology attendances. HA does not maintain statistical record on the waiting
time for audiological assessment and remedial treatment services. The median
waiting time for hearing aid prescription and fitting services is nine weeks.
(3) There are currently 29 audiologists and audiology technicians under HA. They
provide timely hearing tests and treatment according to the diagnosis made by
ENT specialists and the needs of patients. At present, the Department of Health
(DH) employs four audiologists in Child Assessment Service and Student Health
Service to provide audiology-related services. HA and DH will review the
manpower requirement from time to time having regard to the service demand.
The Government conducted a Health Manpower Survey on healthcare personnel in
2009. According to the survey, the responding institutions employed a total of
62 audiologists and 50 audiology technicians. As the data collected from the
survey may not represent the total number of audiologists and audiology
technicians in Hong Kong, the statistics on the ratio of audiologists and
audiology technicians to the total population are not compiled.
(4) Under the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme, eligible elders can use health
care vouchers to pay for healthcare services provided by healthcare
professionals enrolled in the scheme, including hearing assessment services
provided by enrolled doctors. However, health care vouchers cannot be used
solely for purchasing products such as medication or medical equipment. As
audiologists and audiology technicians are currently not subject to statutory
registration, the vouchers cannot be used for services provided by them.
HA provides, through the Samaritan Fund (SF) safety net, financial assistance
for needy patients who have met the specified clinical criteria and passed the
means test to meet the expenses for designated Privately Purchased Medical Items
or new technologies required in the course of medical treatment which are not
covered by the standard fees and charges in public hospitals and clinics. The
items supported by SF also include hearing aids, and the replacement of external
speech processors of cochlear implants and other accessories. Needy patients who
have met the specified clinical requirements will be referred to SF for
financial assistance.
Ends/Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Issued at HKT 18:14
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