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of the 1971 Agreement in the Government giving TWGH the option to meet the sum required or part thereof by raising additional donations specifically for the medical services.
Recommendations
10
The Board's response cannot be regarded as completely satisfactory from the Government's point of view.
The survey of opinion on fee-charging which the Board commissioned provides no grounds to justify the continued provision of free beds and clinic services. It is not surprising that a majority, particularly among TWGH patients, should wish to see the continued provision of free medical services. Nor is it relevant that a majority of TWGH patients are claimed to belong to lower income groups, as there are arrangements at all government and subvented hospitals and clinics which charge the standard fees to grant remission to patients who cannot afford to pay. About 3% of patients in
in government hospitals received remission of fees in 1985. The comparable figure in hospitals operated by the TWGH was 10.4%.
its
own
11
Although TWGH has made clear that
that it is unwilling either to remove free beds and clinic services from hospitals or to raise the money needed for their continued provisions, it has made a significant concession by introducing standard fees for a proportion of its patients, in addition to those transferred from
from government hospitals. The Board has not agreed to adopt any programme whereby the remaining free beds and clinic services would be phased out over a number of years, as the Directors were unwilling to commit their successors formally to such a course of action. However, the present Chairman had indicated that the Board
Board would conduct an annual review of the Group's medical policy, taking into
into account public demand
demand for free medical services, and
and that subject to the findings of the review, consideration might be given to
to a further reduction of
the number of free beds.
12
In these circumstances, it may be preferable to avoid a direct confrontation with TWGH over the question of fee-charging, as would arise if the Government were to proceed to reduce the subvention by the amount that ought to be raised from fees. It is accordingly proposed that the
that the concessions already made by the Group should be accepted as an interim arrangement, on the understanding that the Board will conduct an annual review of the Group's medical policy. The subvention to the TWGH will be adjusted to take account of the increased revenue arising from the reduction in the number of