Toothaches are worse than serious illnesses. Due to the high fees charged by private institutions, the public has a strong demand for public dental services, but there is a serious shortage of places. In the past, there were scenes of the elderly or the grassroots waiting all night until dawn. The Department of Health opened six government dental clinics at the beginning of this month. Introduce the "preliminary registration" arrangement, where staff will initially register personal information for the waiting persons from the early morning of the day to reduce queuing time. Some district councillors suggested the introduction of dental care vouchers to subsidize the elderly and vulnerable citizens; The amendments strengthen the introduction of overseas dentists to increase the number of dentists in Hong Kong as soon as possible.
The Department of Health launched the "preliminary registration" arrangement for district councilors in early September: the practice is not ideal
Kowloon City District Councillor Li Tak-shing said in the District Council Social Service Committee that in early September this year, the government launched a "preliminary registration" arrangement. Eligible citizens can make preliminary registration from 12 midnight on the day the clinic provides services. Return to the clinic for formal collection and registration, and avoid all-night queues. Among them, Kwun Tong and Kowloon City dental clinics will be implemented on the 14th and 15th of this month. The arrangement was originally intended to save the public from the pain of overnight round-robin, but the practice is not ideal. Those who successfully obtained the funds had to go back and forth to queue at the clinic twice, while those who failed to obtain the funds only found that they were empty after a long wait.
He proposed that the government should strengthen public-private cooperation and proactively procure private dental services. He proposed to introduce dental care vouchers to subsidize the elderly and disadvantaged citizens. At the same time, he should increase the number of places for local dentists. dentists to increase the number of dentists in Hong Kong as soon as possible.
In addition, the Department of Health should employ additional dental hygienists and dental therapists to reduce the workload of active-duty dentists and expand more basic dental services.
Pan Guohua said that even if the new measures are implemented in the early morning, it is already early morning after the registration for the elderly, and it is difficult to return by public transportation. It is recommended to register a few hours earlier to 8 to 9 o'clock the night before, so that the elderly can return after completing the procedures. Family.
Zuo Huixiong described the elderly suffering from toothache as "toothless tigers, toothless and old and suffering". The government needs to increase the number of subsidy places, the amount and lower the age of beneficiaries. ”, to provide more practical support to the elderly so that they can enjoy their retirement life in comfort.
The Medical and Health Bureau adds 10 subsidized places for dental training every year to stabilize the supply of dentists
The Medical and Health Bureau and the Department of Health jointly responded in a written response that the government has introduced a series of targeted measures in recent years to take care of people with special needs. Successfully get the chip number.
If the appointment mode is used for citizens who need emergency dental services, they may not be able to receive treatment on the same day.
The bureau has also explored the use of "self-service dispensing machines" in order to improve the procedures for dispensing medical bills in the dental street, so as to prevent the public from queuing overnight. .
In addition, in order to cope with the increasing demand for dental services, the Government will further increase the number of training places for the first-year bachelor's degree programme in dentistry funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC) in the triennium from 2022/23 to 2024/25. From 80 to 90 per year, it is expected that about 400 dental graduates will become registered dentists in the next five years.
In addition, the government will provide 10 UGC-funded postgraduate course places in dentistry each year for the three-year period from the 2022/23 to 2024/25 academic year to ensure a stable supply of specialist dentists.
Regarding the introduction of non-locally trained dentists, the Hong Kong Dental Council has increased the licensing examination for non-locally trained dentists from once a year to twice a year since 2015, optimized the arrangement of individual parts of the licensing examination and revised the retention of results. Policy to attract more qualified non-locally trained dentists to practise in Hong Kong and promote a more diverse local dental talent.
The Government understands the strong public demand for dental services, and will continue to maintain communication with various stakeholders, and will actively consider ways to introduce qualified non-locally trained dentists with a view to increasing the supply of relevant manpower.
To meet the manpower requirement, the Department of Health has also recruited other auxiliary dental grade staff, including dental therapists, dental technicians II, dental hygienists and dental surgical assistants.
The bureau stated that the government will continue to maintain communication with various stakeholders and listen to their opinions, with a view to formulating relevant measures to promote the oral health of the public based on the ongoing 2021 Oral Health Survey.
The Government will also review the use of dental services as part of primary healthcare services within the framework of the primary healthcare blueprint.
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