Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ1: Promotion of breastfeeding
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Priscilla Leung and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today
(February 15):
Question:
It has been reported that recently a taxi driver uploaded onto the Internet a
secretly taken photograph of a female passenger breastfeeding a baby inside the
taxi compartment. The driver was subsequently arrested by the Police under the
charge of access to computer with criminal or dishonest intent. The aforesaid
incident has aroused public concern that some people have poor understanding and
level of acceptance of breastfeeding and that the privacy of passengers on
public transport lacks protection. In this connection, will the Government
inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government will provide more babycare rooms and relevant
ancillary facilities in recreational and cultural venues under its management,
to facilitate women to breastfeed their babies; if it will, of the details; if
not, the reasons for that;
(2) of the Government's publicity and promotion plans in the coming five years
to enhance the public understanding of and support for breastfeeding, so as to
create a breastfeeding-friendly society; and
(3) given that the Guidance on CCTV Surveillance and Use of Drones (the
Guidance) published by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data
provides that people should be explicitly informed that they are subject to
surveillance by closed-circuit television (CCTV) (including devices that are
capable of capturing images of individuals), and that the ways of informing
people include putting up conspicuous notices, whether the authorities have
grasped the present situation about (i) the installation of CCTVs in vehicle
compartments and (ii) the display of notices in accordance with the Guidance, by
operators of various modes of public transport?
Reply:
President,
The Government has all along endeavoured to promote, protect and support
breastfeeding. The Food and Health Bureau (FHB) set up the Committee on
Promotion of Breastfeeding (the Committee) in early April 2014 under the
chairmanship of the Under Secretary for Food and Health. Members include
representatives from relevant professional healthcare bodies, academia as well
as representatives of the organisations that have participated in the promotion
of breastfeeding. The Committee provides specific recommendations on strategies
and action plans to strengthen the promotion, protection and support for
breastfeeding. Its objectives are to enhance the sustainability of breastfeeding
and promote breastfeeding as the norm for babycare widely accepted by the
general public. My reply to the various parts of the question, in consultation
with the Transport and Housing Bureau, the Department of Health (DH) and the
Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), is as follows.
(1) Government departments have been encouraged to provide babycare facilities
in the public places under their management. In line with the policy, the LCSD
endeavours to provide more babycare rooms at its existing and new venues for the
convenience of the public. At present, there are 81 babycare rooms in LCSD
venues. If there is no babycare room, venue staff will provide an appropriate
place or space to meet the public's needs as far as practicable. The LCSD has
also included babycare room as a standard provision. Wherever feasible,
consideration will be given to providing babycare rooms in planning for major
new leisure facilities or venue renovation works.
(2) In 2014, the Committee formulated a three-year work plan to enhance
publicity and education on breastfeeding, further encourage the adoption of a
Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace policy and promote Breastfeeding Friendly
Premises. The work plan has been jointly implemented by the Government and a
number of organisations. With their concerted efforts over the past two years,
some of the measures have achieved significant results. The key areas of work
include:
(I) Breastfeeding Friendly Premises
The DH has been promoting Breastfeeding Friendly Premises in public places of
the community, where breastfeeding mothers and their families feel welcome and
are supported to breastfeed anytime, anywhere.
Among others, the DH and the Hong Kong Committee for the United Nations
Children's Fund collaborated with the Hong Kong Catering Industry Association to
introduce and promote Breastfeeding Friendly Premises measures to the catering
industry in 2015. As at October 2016, more than 80 restaurants had implemented
Breastfeeding Friendly Premises measures.
Moreover, the FHB issued letters to more than 470 private organisations and
enterprises in June 2016 to encourage them to implement Breastfeeding Friendly
Premises policy in public places owned or managed by them.
(II) Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace
To provide appropriate support for lactating mothers when they return to work
and promote an inclusive culture for breastfeeding in the workplace, the FHB has
been issuing advice on public health to individual government bureaux and
departments since 2013, encouraging them to implement the Breastfeeding Friendly
Workplace policy by putting in place the measures below so as to facilitate
lactating staff to continue breastfeeding after returning to work:
(i) allowing lactation breaks (two breaks of about 30 minutes each during an
eight-hour shift) to lactating staff for expression of breastmilk for at least
one year after childbirth. Supervisors should discuss with the lactating staff
who continue with breastfeeding beyond the first year to make flexible
arrangements for lactation breaks;
(ii) providing a private space with a comfortable chair with table and an
electric outlet for operating the breast pump; and
(iii) providing refrigerating facilities for safe storage of expressed
breastmilk.
At present, over 75 bureaux and departments have implemented the policy.
As the largest employer in Hong Kong, the Government hopes to set an example in
promoting the Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace policy and encourage private
enterprises to implement the same policy.
(III) Publicity and education on breastfeeding
The DH has been actively promoting and supporting breastfeeding through
different channels. These include:
(i) providing training for maternal and child health personnel and producing a
training VCD on breastfeeding for their reference;
(ii) providing health information on breastfeeding for parents through
workshops, production and distribution of educational materials such as booklets
and videos, and webpage of the Family Health Service of the DH;
(iii) providing guidance and skill support for breastfeeding mothers through the
Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) and the breastfeeding hotline; and
(iv) organising publicity activities (e.g. showing of promotional videos on TV
and buses and in MTR, advertising on bus bodies and attending media interviews)
to enhance public awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding.
The DH has also produced and uploaded relevant guidelines such as Guide to
Establishing Breastfeeding Friendly Premises, Employers' Guide to Establishing
Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace and An Employee’s Guide to Combining
Breastfeeding with Work onto its Family Health Service webpage for reference by
the public as well as those organisations and public premises interested in
implementing breastfeeding friendly measures.
Furthermore, the DH launched the Info for Nursing Mum App in February 2016 to
provide relevant online information, including breastfeeding policy,
breastfeeding news, FAQs on breastfeeding and community resources.
(IV) Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative
To echo the Baby Friendly Hospital (BFH) Initiative, a worldwide programme
launched by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's
Fund, the Hospital Authority has been implementing the initiative in its eight
public hospitals with maternity wards and encouraging them to become BFH in
phases. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital was accredited internationally as Hong
Kong’s first BFH in May 2016. The objective of the BFH Initiative is to remove
elements obstructing breastfeeding in medical institutions, including hospitals,
clinics and mother and baby centres, and to support more mothers to sustain
breastfeeding through the provision of services and guidance.
In June 2016, the DH launched a pilot scheme of Baby-Friendly MCHC Accreditation
in three MCHCs, namely, Sai Ying Pun MCHC, Kowloon City MCHC and Yaumatei MCHC.
The target is to complete the accreditation of the pilot scheme within three
years.
In the future, the Government will continue to work with the relevant parties
and sectors in the community to implement the measures of the work plan.
(3) At present, the MTR Corporation Limited, franchised bus operators, some
ferry operators, some non-franchised buses, some public light buses and some
taxi owners/drivers, having regard to their operational needs, have installed
closed circuit television (CCTV) systems with recording function in some of
their vehicle or vessel compartments so that their staff can monitor the
situation of the vehicle and vessel compartments through the systems with a view
to providing timely assistance to passengers and handling emergencies, or
enhancing services. Notices are generally put up in the vehicle or vessel
compartments to inform passengers that CCTV systems have been installed. Trams
are also installed with CCTV systems without recording function at the rear of
all compartments to monitor passengers' access and provide assistance. In any
case, public transport operators must comply with the requirements of the
Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) and make reference to the Guidance
on CCTV Surveillance and Use of Drones published by the Office of the Privacy
Commissioner for Personal Data if they have installed CCTV systems in their
vehicle or vessel compartments.
Ends/Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Issued at HKT 17:16
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