Policy Address

(D) Healthcare

226. To address the challenges brought by an ageing society, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and pressure on healthcare resources, the Government will deepen healthcare system reform, enhancing its sustainability, strengthening primary healthcare and increasing healthcare manpower, while promoting health and medical innovation and encouraging collaboration within the GBA.

Enhance the Public Healthcare System

227. The HA will enhance the safety, quality and efficiency of public healthcare services, uphold the safety-first principle in delivering services, and advance the reform of governance and accountability. Dedicated teams will be established and the electronic systems upgraded to process applications for medical fee waivers to help patients in need. The charges and positioning of non-subsidised services will be reviewed to offer more service options to members of the public who can afford more. Existing public healthcare services will also be enhanced. Relevant measures include establishing, in phases, Stroke Centres and Integrated Cardiovascular Diseases Centres in accordance with national accreditation standards to improve treatment effectiveness; shortening waiting time by 10% (about 10 weeks) for stable new case bookings in the specialty of Surgery; enhancing ophthalmic services by strengthening training for professional personnel, introducing innovative medications and setting up a new high-capacity ambulatory cataract surgery centre; extending the Hospital Accreditation Programme to cover a major acute hospital in each public hospital cluster, while contributing to the internationalisation of national hospital accreditation standards; and comprehensively upgrading the "Degenerative Knee Joint Management Programme" to promote early prevention and avoid progression to late-stage conditions that require surgical treatment.