Press Releases

Transcript of Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

Following is a transcript of the remarks made by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, at a media session after attending a radio programme today (January 22):

Reporter: ... new medical fees and charges in April. How will they help the financial deficit?

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food: Well, the fees and charges that we have implemented, the additional revenue that will be generated is really quite inconsequential compared to the total budget deficit. We estimate the new fees and charges will bring in an additional revenue of about $300 million. But when you look in terms of the budgetary requirements of the operational budget of the Hospital Authority that it has got to balance its book, and in terms of the context of the overall government budget, it is really quite inconsequential. Even with the new fees, government will still be subventing public medical services to the rim of 96 per cent.

Reporter: ... new exemption system ...

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food: We are in the final stages of reviewing the present waiver system and to look in the context of how we can strengthen this so that the system becomes simpler and that people will have a clearer understanding whether they are eligible for the waivers. Broadly, we are looking at three criteria. One is of course the income and assets of the individuals and the families. The second is the clinical condition. Even though individuals may have reasonable incomes but if their clinical condition and medical condition is such that they require frequent consultations and frequent admissions. Obviously this will be a better factor that will change the criteria because many individuals who have serious illnesses will have difficulties going back to work. They have a lot of additional expenditures relating to the illness both within the health setting and outside of the health setting. And the third will be the social conditions because there are individuals although their family incomes may be reasonable but because of the interaction within the family, they may not get the same support. So those are the three broad criteria that we are looking at in terms of how we are going to administer the waiver system. 

Reporter: (bird flu as a home grown virus) ......

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food: Well, certainly bird flu is found in Hong Kong. I think when we talk about bird flu, we are talking about the bird flu that was detected in Hong Kong in 1997 and the subsequent episodes that we had since then. But bird flu is a universal phenomenon. For bird flu occurring in poultry, they do cause outbreaks in many parts of the world. The interest in bird flu in Hong Kong was that in 1997 it was the first time that it went to man and that we had a very serious consequence of that because there was a very high death rate. So the concern was bird flu going to man, not bird flu itself because there are outbreaks of bird flu all over the world, in America, in Mexico, etc. and different countries have outbreaks of bird flu.

Reporter: Do you think Mainland chickens ...

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food: Well, it depends on which bird flu that you are talking about. When you talk about 1997, the outbreak was detected in Hong Kong. So where it originated? Obviously we detected it here. 

Reporter: ... H5N1 ...

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food: H5N1 is present in a lot of fowl. It is a question whether it was the same species that caused the outbreak in 1997. So I don't know what you are referring to. 

Reporter: I mean the one that killed ...

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food: The one that killed people in Hong Kong was only detected in Hong Kong. 

Reporter: ... Mainland officials were saying ...

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food: I don't know the basis of the comments but certainly it is a fact that the 1997 bird flu was detected in Hong Kong. 

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion)

End/Wednesday, January 22, 2003
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