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Health
Under the School Dental Care Service, the department's eight school dental clinics provide preventive dental services, including annual check-ups and basic care, in the 2017-18 school year to about 349,300 primary students, comprising 96 per cent of all Hong Kong primary students. At special schools, students with disabilities can use these services until age 18.
Elderly Health
The department's 18 elderly health centres and 18 visiting health teams provide primary health care to the elderly, improve their ability to care for themselves, encourage healthy living and strengthen family support so as to minimise illness and disability. The centres provide health. assessment, treatment, education and counselling to people aged 65 and above. The visiting teams conduct health promotion activities for the elderly and provide training to improve carers' skills. In 2018, there were about 48,000 enrolments and 184,000 attendances for health assessment and medical consultation, as well as some 478,000 attendances at health promotion activities.
The Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme subsidises the elderly to receive private primary care in the community that best suits their health needs. In 2018, eligible elderly residents each. received a one-off voucher amount of $1,000 in addition to the annual $2,000. They were also allowed to accumulate $5,000 of vouchers as a regular measure, up from $4,000. Close to 1.2 million elderly residents had made use of the vouchers by end-2018, accounting for about 94 per cent of the eligible population.
Community Health
Community health care aims to reduce reliance on inpatient services and help patients recover in the community. In 2018, the Hospital Authority conducted 2.09 million home visits and outreach care services for, among others, elderly and mental patients.
More than 80 per cent of those receiving the Hospital Authority's community nursing services are elderly. In addition, community geriatric assessment teams visit residential care homes for the elderly regularly to provide medical and nursing care to frail residents who are unable to attend specialist outpatient clinics. These teams also train carers at the homes to care for their residents as well.
The Patient Support Call Centre provides telephone support to high-risk elderly patients discharged from public hospitals, offering advice on disease management and care support and arranging referrals to appropriate services for patients in need.
Oral Health
Eleven government dental clinics provide emergency services in pain relief and tooth extraction, while seven public hospitals offer specialist oral health care. The department also monitors the level of fluoridation in public drinking water to reduce dental decay.
The department's Oral Health Education Unit holds targeted educational activities to promote oral health, such as the Bright Smiles Mobile Classroom for primary students. Information on oral health is available through the unit's homepage. The department also organises an annual Love Teeth Campaign to encourage good dental habits.
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