8
Health
Secondary, Tertiary and Specialised Healthcare Services
Secondary, tertiary and specialised healthcare services are provided mainly in the HA's hospitals and specialist clinics. At the end of 2012, there were 27,153 public hospital beds, comprising 20,845 general beds, 2,041 infirmary beds, 3,607 beds for the mentally ill and 660 beds for the mentally handicapped. In addition, there were 4,033 beds in private hospitals, 4,571 in nursing homes and 822 in institutions run by the Correctional Services Department. There are five beds per thousand of population. Spending on secondary, tertiary and specialised healthcare services, including public specialist outpatient and inpatient services, as well as private inpatient services, amounted to about $44.8 billion in 2009-10, of which spending on public specialist outpatient and inpatient services accounted for 75 per cent.
In the 2011-12 financial year, about $7.9 billion was spent on secondary and tertiary ambulatory medical services provided by the HA's specialist clinics. The HA has specialist clinics for a wide range of specialties, including internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, orthopaedics and traumatology, ear, nose and throat, ophthalmology, psychiatry, neurosurgery, oncology and cardio-thoracic surgery.
In 2012, members of the public made over 6.6 million visits to public hospital specialist outpatient clinics2. Appointments for new patients are made on the basis of the severity of their condition in order to ensure that patients with acute conditions will be given priority in the allocation of services. Patients in stable condition are referred to primary care practitioners in the private sector or the HA's general outpatient clinics for follow-up.
Allied Health Service
Allied health professionals working under the HA include audiologists, clinical psychologists, dietitians, occupational therapists, optometrists, orthoptists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, prosthetists and orthotists, speech therapists and medical social workers. They provide rehabilitative and extended care for patients receiving inpatient, outpatient, ambulatory and community care services to help them reintegrate into society. In 2012, members of the public made about 2.25 million visits to allied health outpatient departments.
Inpatient Services
In the 2011-12 financial year, $26.4 billion was spent on providing inpatient services by HA hospitals and a total of 1.55 million inpatients and day-patients were discharged from public hospitals.
Accident and Emergency Services
Accident and emergency services are provided at 16 HA hospitals, delivering a high standard of service for critically ill or injured persons who need urgent medical attention and providing medical support for victims of disasters. In the 2011-12 financial year, $2 billion was spent on these services. In 2012, 1.31 million people paid 2.3 million visits to the accident and emergency departments of public hospitals, an average of 6,285 attendances per day.
2
Including all hospital beds provided by hospitals under the HA, private hospitals, nursing homes and correctional institutions included in the Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Maternity Homes Registration Ordinance
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