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Data on epileptic patients
Following is a question by Dr the Hon Huang Chen-ya and a written reply by the Secretary for Health and Welfare, Mrs Katherine Fok, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Does the Government know of:
(a)
the total number of epileptic patients who attended the out-patient departments of public hospitals in the past year;
Reply:
End
(b)
(c)
(d)
(a)
(b)
T
the total number of patients who underwent epileptic surgery in the past
year;
the total number of epileptic patients discharged from public hospitals, as well as the number of these discharged patients who were in unstable condition after discharge and had frequent seizures, in the past year; and
the current estimated number of patients who need to undergo epileptic surgery?
As the Hospital Authority's (HA's) present automated recording system categorises out-patients according to specialties, and not diseases, the HA does not have readily available information on the number of epileptic patients attending the out-patient departments of public hospitals in the past year.
In 1996/97, 43 patients received surgical treatment for epilepsy in HA's hospitals.
(c) During the period July 1995 to June 1996, which is the latest information available for a full year, 3803 patients were admitted into HA's hospitals for treatment of epilepsy. Out of these 3803 patients, 237 had four or more episodes of hospitalization during this period.
(d)
Epileptic surgery was only recently introduced as a pilot scheme to deal with poorly controlled epilepsy patients potentially amenable to surgical therapy. The number of patients who need to undergo epileptic surgery will be assessed based on the outcome of the current pilot programme, which is still under evaluation.