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Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2020-10-23 07:00
Last update date: 2020-10-23 07:00
The Food and Health Bureau pointed out to the Legislative Council on Wednesday (21st) that as of the end of July this year, the Kwai Tsing District Health Center had 6,390 members. The average monthly participation for the first ten months of operation was only 2,850, which was only 60% of the target. The figures call into question the center's failure to promote the effectiveness of primary care.
The government established the first district health center in Hong Kong in October last year, and it is expanding it to all districts to provide primary medical and health services according to the needs of the local population, increase citizens’ awareness of disease prevention and the ability to manage personal health, and control chronic diseases. Reduce the medical burden of hospitals and specialist clinics.
The Kwai Tsing Health Centre has been in service since September 2019.
(Profile picture / Photo by Liang Pengwei)
The number of service is not as expected
The current population of Kwai Tsing District is about 500,000.
Government reply As of the end of July, the Health Center has 6,390 registered members, which is less than 1.5% of the population in the district, which is hard to say.
It was originally estimated that the center serves 55,000 people per year, of which 20,000 receive health promotion, counseling and counseling services and health risk assessment, and 35,000 receive chronic disease management and community rehabilitation services.
As of the end of July this year, there were only 28,500 participants, which is only more than 50% of the target.
Past reports and investigations have pointed out that the center’s visibility is insufficient, and neighbours who have resources do not know how to use it.
In fact, in the early stage of the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, the area lacked resources for epidemic prevention. The district health center should cooperate fully with the Office of Home Affairs and the District Council to coordinate the distribution of epidemic prevention materials and information, play the center's disease prevention function, and also take the opportunity to gain a reputation.
However, regional organizations criticized that they joined the distribution of supplies after the residents were most flustered, and missed the opportunity.
Taking a closer look at the distribution of the number of people participating in the center's services, health promotion activities and health risk assessment categories have exceeded the standard, reaching 27,000. However, under the epidemic, exceeding the standard is normal.
If the center can play a coordinating role, the number of people serving will definitely exceed this number.
The Health Center provides a multi-professional team of medical and nursing care to provide residents with one-stop medical services.
(Photo by Liang Pengwei)
Review the reasons to avoid repeating the same mistakes
On the other side, chronic disease management and community rehabilitation services are far from satisfactory. Only 1,323 people participated, accounting for less than 4% of the expected.
Under the new crown epidemic, residents' desire to leave home has also decreased, let alone clinics and health centers for consultation.
But from another point of view, chronic diseases will not disappear due to the epidemic. For diuresis, high blood pressure, and musculoskeletal pain that the Health Center attaches importance to, often staying at home and lack of walking will aggravate the disease. The center should review the reasons for the cold treatment of residents. .
The person in charge emphasized that efforts should be made to promote services during the epidemic, such as posting posts and videos on social platforms and introducing health knowledge. However, since the number of clicks and likes of videos on YouTube and Facebook is few, the effectiveness is questionable.
A major feature of the Health Center is the extensive coverage of referral services, which reflects the cooperation between the medical and social welfare sectors and cross-professional cooperation. Patients can stay in the community for treatment without having to wait for public hospital services to avoid deterioration of their condition during the waiting period.
The government replied that the center cooperated with more than 30 non-governmental organizations in the district to refer cases, and with about 100 private doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, optometrists, nutritionists, and Chinese medicine practitioners in the district or nearby areas And other links.
It may seem like a lot of 100 medical staff, but compared to the approximately 200 private Western medicine, Chinese medicine, and physiotherapists in Kwai Tsing District, the existing connection network is not extensive, and it seems that medical staff who have joined the network are not actively referred. The center needs Explore the reasons.
By the way, the referral service is two-way, that is, the health center can refer cases to private medical services in the area. The center should announce the number of two-way referral cases and the patient's acceptance in the future in order to judge the effectiveness of sharing treatment with the private medical system.
Of course, the first phase of the contract for the Kwai Tsing Health and Wellness Centre is three years. Now that it has opened for one year, it may take time to implement the action goals.
However, Hong Kong has been wasting 30 years on the establishment of primary medical care. Now that the current government is rebuilding primary medical care with great fanfare, it also regards the establishment of a health center as an opportunity. The society particularly values the effectiveness of Kwai Tsing District.
In addition, the government awarded the contract for the two district health centers in September. Kwai Tsing needs to set a good example and reduce latecomers to go wrong.
The center team, regional organizations, medical institutions, and health departments must take advantage of the remaining two years to meet service goals and assume the responsibility of regional guardians to relieve the pressure on the public medical system in the long run.
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