Supplementary to Question No. 7
in LegCo Meeting on 25.3.87
Dr. CHIU : Sir, the Secretary has indicated that people
prefer the services offered by Government Hospitals to those by
subvented hospitals. In this connection, should Government
seriously consider taking positive steps to integrate the two
sectors and to allocate similar resources for identical services,
So that no distinctions can be made between the services
provided by both Government and subvented sectors?
Secretary for Health and Welfare : Sir, it does seem, as
Dr. CHIU says, that many patients do have a preference for
Government hospitals. As I said in my answer, the consultants
who examined the hospital system did make a number of
recommendations as to how the integration,
which they considered
to be desirable,
should be effected.
We are considering very
carefully
the possibility of establishing a Hospital Authority
and if so, what form that would take but we are not yet ready
to make any announcement as to the decision on this.
Dr. CHIU referred to the
distinction between the way in which government hospitals and
subvented hospitals are financed.
It is often said that the
subvented hospitals do not receive as generous financing as
government hospitals.
actually compare like with like in this situation. The financing
of a hospital varies a great deal depending on the type of
services provided in that hospital. Within government hospitals,
the range of bed costs are between $330 a day for an infirmary,
and nearly $900 a day for an acute general hospital. It is
therefore very difficult to say whether the subvented hospitals
But I think it is very difficult to