Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ6: Provision of private healthcare service in public hospitals

Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (June 28):

Question:

It has been reported that the Government is considering setting up a joint public-private medical centre on Lantau Island while the Hospital Authority is also planning to expand its private healthcare service. Regarding the details of these two projects and their impact on public healthcare service, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the details of its plan to establish a joint public-private medical centre on Lantau Island;

(b) whether it plans to subsidise public healthcare service with the profits generated from the provision of private healthcare service in public hospitals; if so, how it can ensure that public hospital patients who cannot afford private healthcare service will not be affected, and that implementing the plan will not go against the principle that "every resident should have equal access to public healthcare service regardless of their financial means"; and

(c) how the expansion of private healthcare service will tie in with the healthcare financing scheme to be implemented and whether this will further drive up the bed occupancy rate of public hospitals, which is already on the high side?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) The Administration does not have any plan so far to establish a joint public-private medical centre on Lantau Island. As a matter of fact, the proposed North Lantau Hospital (NLH) is still in the planning stage, where the scope of medical services to be provided by NLH upon completion as well as the feasibility of commissioning the hospital in phases are being studied.

One of the recommendations in the Discussion Paper entitled "Building a Healthy Tomorrow" by the Health and Medical Development Advisory Committee is to encourage further integration between the private and public medical sectors. The Committee is of view that better integration would not only redress the imbalance between private and public medical services, but also promote healthy competition in terms of the overall service quality and professional standards and provide more choices for the public. Therefore, the Administration will consider the feasibility of public-private collaboration when studying the future operational model of NLH, but no conclusion has been reached at this time.

(b) It is the priority of the Hospital Authority (HA) to provide quality medical services to the public in Hong Kong and to ensure that the low-income group and the underprivileged have equitable access to the necessary medical services. As a matter of fact, the HA does not have any plan currently to increase the supply of its private services. Furthermore, such services only account for a very small share of the overall level of services provided in public hospitals - below 1% in terms of both bed-days utilised and the number of outpatient attendances. Therefore, the public need not be concerned about their access to public medical services being affected by HA's private services.

The main rationale for providing private medical services in public hospitals is that there are certain levels of expertise and facilities within the public medical sector, particularly at the teaching hospitals, which are not generally available in private sector. The provision of private services in public hospitals provide those members of the public, who prefer to procure private medical services at their own expenses, a means of accessing the specialised services in public hospitals. This avoids increasing the burden of the public healthcare system by this group of people.

As a matter of principle, the Administration will not use public funds to subsidise the private services in public hospitals. Currently, the fees for private services are set with reference to market prices, but they must be higher than the costs for providing such services. This charging policy ensures that HA's private services would not interfere with the normal operation of the private market. The income derived by the HA from its private services are fully ploughed back to meet the operational expenditure of its public services.

(c) While the HA does not have any plan to expand its private medical services, it will continue to strive to improve the quality and standard of both its public and private services and establish an exemplary benchmark with a view to enhancing the overall standard of medical services in Hong Kong. Through the provision of private medical services, the HA is to meet the demand of some members of the public who are willing to shoulder the full cost for services in public hospitals at their own expenses. There is no direct connection with the Administration's healthcare financing arrangement. Moreover, the HA will not change the level of provision or the capacity of its public medical services due to the provision of private services in public hospitals. Therefore, HA's private services should not have any effect on the utilisation rates of its public beds.


Ends/Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Issued at HKT 14:21

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