www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

HK can use its reserves to improve community's health

Updated: 2016-02-26 07:51

By Rachel Cartland(HK Edition)

  Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按鈕 0

I am fortunate enough to have a busy life. In any downtime I turn to the Internet for enlightenment and entertainment, and usually ignore the television. The only exceptions I make are for the local news bulletin, and a British series with the title Call the Midwife. This is a drama set in a poor part of London beginning just after the National Health Service had been set up, bringing in a system of medical care free to all at the point of delivery to replace one which was essentially privatized with patients or their families having to pay for every treatment. Although it is fiction it reflects the reality of a terrible burden of anxiety being lifted.

Worrying about what might happen if we fall ill is surely a universal emotion. In the days when I had plenty of opportunities to chat to elderly CSSA (Comprehensive Social Security Assistance) recipients I found that this was the topic that came up over and over again. The entitlement that comes with CSSA to exemption from all charges levied by the Hospital Authority system is regarded as one of the greatest benefits of being a social security recipient and many had tales of life saving surgery and follow up medication received. Incidentally, trust in the reliability of Hong Kong's medical services was a major factor in deterring the elderly from entering schemes for portable CSSA that would allow them to continue to receive benefits while living on the mainland.

There was another side to the coin though; others were still troubled particularly about the problem of getting access to these services since the wait for an appointment at a specialist clinic is often so long. It is not, of course, just the elderly who will have particularly acute concerns. Shortage of appropriate professionals means that those with mental illness suffer and parents of children with disabilities can face an uphill struggle to obtain the assistance that they need.

It is worth bearing in mind, too, that one can have a different perspective on public medical services depending on your address and income level. Things can look rosy if you have access to Queen Mary Hospital and have the income and status that allow you to easily take time off for medical appointments, to have an expectation that you will be granted sick leave and also to supplement with private sector treatment if necessary. It is a different story if, like the bulk of the population, you live in the crowded estates in the New Territories, may well not have an understanding employer nor the means to "go private" in order to speed things up.

Of course, we should not underestimate the fantastic achievements of our health services in terms of giving us high life expectancy, low rates of maternal and child mortality and so on. All the same, can we not do better and offer a really decent service to all Hong Kong's citizens? In this connection, it is encouraging to see what was set out in the recent Policy Address. Major increases are promised in numbers of hospital beds, operating theatres, day care sessions and training places for doctors.

Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man has also made a worthwhile decision to stop emphasizing Hong Kong's potential as a center for medical tourism which will mean that resources can be concentrated on the needs of our own population. In addition, the discussion on a possible health insurance scheme has become more muted and that is surely sensible. Over many years much effort has been spent on trying to come up with a workable scheme, but so far to no avail and, that being so, all that energy might better go toward the not-so-simple task of planning to provide services that are most appropriate to the needs of our community.

So what has been announced is good but should it not go further? Wouldn't it be commendable to announce some really bold targets such as cutting the waiting times for basic operations like cataract repair or for appointments with consultants or diagnostic tests? Of course it would be expensive; the already announced hospital construction projects alone will cost an estimated HK$200 billion. We should not recklessly splash money around but, let's face it, we can afford to do even more. In his illuminating recent commentary in the South China Morning Post, Richard Harris pointed out that tiny Hong Kong currently has consolidated government reserves of an estimated HK$1.57 trillion, a sum which continues to grow. What better use could they be put to than to give our community the greatest gift of all, the gift of good health?

HK can use its reserves to improve community's health

(HK Edition 02/26/2016 page10)

主站蜘蛛池模板: 日韩在线成人 | 九九九九九九精品免费 | 国产精品色内内在线播放 | 日本亚洲高清 | 久久久亚洲国产精品主播 | 丁香婷婷影音先锋5566 | 日韩欧美国产视频 | 亚洲国产成人精品91久久久 | 美女一级毛片免费观看 | 日韩欧美一区二区三区免费看 | 台湾三级在线播放 | 国产婷婷一区二区在线观看 | 国产免费久久 | 成人亚洲欧美日韩在线 | 久久精品网站免费观看 | 99热久久国产精品免费观看 | 欧美一级毛片香蕉网 | 亚洲成aⅴ人在线观看 | 美女张开腿让男人捅爽 | 午夜影院免费入口 | 97在线观看成人免费视频 | 国产精品va一级二级三级 | 国产一区二区在线免费观看 | 美女视频大全视频a免费九 美女视频大全网站免费 | 日韩美一区二区三区 | 99国内精品久久久久久久 | 国产男女在线观看 | 最新国产成人综合在线观看 | 亚洲日韩精品欧美一区二区一 | 午夜日韩视频 | 性感美女一级毛片 | 深夜福利视频在线看免费 | 国产在线播放不卡 | 亚洲国产欧美另类 | 亚洲国产精品视频 | 精品国产精品国产 | 国产成人亚洲综合欧美一部 | 欧洲国产伦久久久久久久 | 日本一级特黄毛片高清视频 | 怡红院成人在线 | 亚州一级毛片在线 |