Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ7: Consultation time of out-patient services of Hospital Authority
Following is a question by the Hon Chan Chi-chuen and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, in the Legislative Council
today (November 1):
Question:
It has been reported that the Hospital Authority set up a task force in 2008 to
follow up on the issue of excessively short average consultation time per
patient in its public hospitals and clinics, and at the same time commissioned
The Chinese University of Hong Kong to conduct a two-year study and to recommend
a reasonable length of consultation time. In this connection, will the
Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) the reasons why the findings of the aforesaid study have not yet been
published by the Hospital Authority so far and whether they will be published
expeditiously; if so, when they will be published; and
(2) whether the Hospital Authority will introduce measures to increase the
average consultation time per patient in public hospitals and clinics; if so, of
the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Chi-chuen on the consultation
time of the Hospital Authority (HA) is as follows:
(1) In order to enhance the quality of its primary care services, the HA
commissioned the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2008 to conduct a review of
the development, positioning and staff training of its general out-patient (GOP)
services for internal reference purpose. The review did not cover whether a
reasonable length of consultation time for GOP services should be set. As the
review was intended for the HA's internal reference, its findings have not been
published. The HA has, however, implemented a range of improvement measures for
its GOP services in the light of the findings, such as increasing the quotas for
GOP services, introducing services provided by multi-disciplinary teams of
healthcare professionals for the management of chronic diseases and
strengthening staff training. Members of the public have been informed of such
measures through various channels.
(2) Regarding the GOP services, the HA provided more than 600 000 additional
attendances in the period from 2012-13 to 2016-17. The consultation time per
patient has also increased gradually. The average consultation time was about
6.7 minutes in 2008. Since 2014, the HA has adopted a planning parameter of
eight minutes when planning for additional GOP services, representing an
improvement of up to 20 per cent. Moreover, the Coordinating Committee in Family
Medicine of the HA reviews the consultation time on a regular basis with a view
to striking a balance between healthcare manpower and service needs of patients.
As for specialist out-patient (SOP) services, the SOP clinics of the HA provides
specialist services for patients referred by medical practitioners registered in
Hong Kong. During consultations, specialists conduct necessary examinations and
provide appropriate treatments for patients according to their clinical
conditions. The actual amount of consultation time varies with the clinical
conditions of each patient and the complexity of each case. Generally speaking,
the consultation time for new cases is longer than that for old ones. Given Hong
Kong's ageing population and rising prevalence of chronic diseases, there is an
ever-increasing demand for SOP services. These factors, coupled with the
inadequate supply of healthcare manpower, have resulted in the extension of
working hours of healthcare staff providing SOP services in order for them to
meet the mounting service needs. To enhance service capacity, the HA will
continue to actively employ additional doctors in different specialties and
part-time doctors. Suitable serving doctors who are going to reach the
retirement age of 60 or complete their contracts will also be re-employed to
perform clinical duties and help train young doctors.
Ends/Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Issued at HKT 16:00
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