Press Releases
SFH continues his visit in London (with photos)
The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, continued his visit
to London, the United Kingdom (UK), today (May 17, London time),
paying a visit to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and meeting with
its Chief Executive, Mr David Behan, in the morning.
The CQC, an independent regulator of health and adult social care
services in England, administers a registration scheme under which
providers of services such as hospital services, residential care,
personal care and nursing care are required to meet essential quality
and safety standards in order to qualify for registration and commence
operation. The CQC conducts a regular review of service providers
against the essential standards of quality and safety, and
disseminates the review results to service users to enable them to
make an informed choice of service providers.
During the meeting, Dr Ko pointed out that the Hong Kong Government
set up the Steering Committee on Review of the Regulation of Private
Healthcare Facilities in October last year. It is tasked with
reviewing the regulatory regime for the private health-care facilities
in Hong Kong, which covers private hospitals, nursing homes and
non-profit-making clinics. The review aims at enhancing the quality
and transparency of private health-care services, as well as better
protecting patients' rights and safety. Dr Ko thanked Mr Behan for
sharing his experience and advice on ways to enhance the quality of
private health-care services and strengthen regulation of private
hospitals.
Dr Ko then met with Medical Director of the National Health Service (NHS)
and Chairman of the NHS Review of the Regulation of Cosmetic
Interventions Committee, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh. The Committee was
set up in the UK as a result of increasing concern over standards of
cosmetic surgery and products. The Committee will review existing
guidelines for ensuring the physical and psychological health of
people having cosmetic interventions. It will address areas such as
the quality of products used, the ability of staff, informed consent,
redress in the event of harm, and systems for reporting patient
outcomes.
Dr Ko said, "Chaired by the Director of Health, the Working Group on
Differentiation between Medical Procedures and Beauty Services was
also set up to differentiate between medical treatments and ordinary
beauty services currently available in the market and to make
recommendations to the Hong Kong Government on procedures that should
be performed by registered medical practitioners. Today's discussion
with the Committee has enabled us to have a better understanding of
the UK's experiences."
Before concluding his visit in London, Dr Ko called on the Department
of Health of UK and had a discussion with the senior officials on the
regulatory challenges brought about by the advancement of medical
technology.
Joining Dr Ko in the London visit are the Director of Health, Dr
Constance Chan, and the Head of the Healthcare Planning and
Development Office of the Food and Health Bureau, Mr Chris Sun.
Dr Ko will leave London for Munich, Germany, tomorrow (May 18, London
time) to visit a Chinese medicine clinic in Kötzting.
Ends/Saturday, May 18, 2013
Issued at HKT 07:01
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