Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ18: Haemophilia and thalassaemia patients infected with hepatitis C virus
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Pierre Chan and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today
(March 29):
Question:
Some patients suffering from haemophilia and thalassaemia (patients with blood
diseases) have relayed to me that they were infected with hepatitis C virus many
years ago after receiving blood transfusion or treatment involving blood
products at public hospitals because, prior to July 1991, the Hong Kong Red
Cross Blood Transfusion Service did not screen the collected blood for hepatitis
C antibody, resulting in the blood or blood products carrying the virus. They
consider that as they are innocent victims of hepatitis infection, the
Government and the Hospital Authority are duty-bound to provide them with
appropriate treatment for hepatitis. However, the treatment plans for hepatitis
provided under the public healthcare system are not uniform, and medications
having more side effects and with lower efficacy are prescribed. In this
connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(1) the number of attendances of hepatitis C patients with blood diseases
receiving hepatitis treatment under the public healthcare system in the past
five years and, among such patients, the number of those who were cured of
hepatitis; and
(2) the current number of patients with blood diseases receiving hepatitis
treatment under the public healthcare system and, among them, the number of
those who have been referred to hepatology specialist outpatient clinics for
hepatitis treatment (and set out in a table the breakdown by hospital cluster)?
Reply:
President,
(1) and (2) My consolidated reply to the various parts of the question raised by
the Dr Hon Pierre Chan relating to hepatitis C treatment for patients suffering
from haemophilia and thalassaemia under the public healthcare system is as
follows:
Being the major service provider in the publicly-funded public healthcare
system, the Hospital Authority (HA) places high importance on providing optimal
care for all patients and ensuring fair and efficient use of limited public
resources so that patients can receive fair and appropriate treatment under the
highly subsidised public healthcare system.
Hepatitis C patients, including those also suffering from haemophilia and
thalassaemia, will be assessed by their attending doctors for devising the most
suitable treatment plan. According to the existing treatment plan of the HA,
haemophilia or thalassaemia patients who are infected with hepatitis C and have
not yet received any assessment before will be referred to the gastroenterology
and hepatology department of their respective hospitals or other relevant
hospitals within the same cluster for assessment. Doctors will prioritise
patients for receiving chronic hepatitis C treatment according to their clinical
conditions and the severity of their liver diseases. Patients may consult their
doctors for the latest information, recommendations and treatment plan.
Regarding the drug treatment of hepatitis C, the HA introduced the new
generation direct-acting antiviral drug (DAA) as a special drug in the Drug
Formulary in July 2014 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. In 2016-17,
three more DAAs were introduced as special drugs for treating the disease.
Special drugs are drugs used under specified clinical conditions with specific
specialist authorisation. These drugs are provided at standard fees and charges
in public hospitals and clinics when prescribed under specific clinical
conditions. In 2017-18, the HA will make use of the additional recurrent funding
of about $32 million provided by the Government to expand the clinical
applications of these special drugs for the treatment of hepatitis C with a view
to benefiting more patients.
The HA does not maintain statistics on the number of haemophilia and
thalassaemia patients infected with hepatitis C nor the number of these patients
receiving treatment from the HA.
Ends/Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Issued at HKT 11:11
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