XN000022-1979-03-11 — Page 8

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SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 1979

PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SYSTEM PRAISED

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THE EXISTENCE OF A SOUND AND EFFICIENT PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SYSTEM HAS BEEN LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR HONG KONG'S MEDICAL AND HEALTH ACHIEVEMENTS AS REFLECTED BY THE FAVOURABLE INDICES OF HEALTH AND THE CHANGED PATTERN OF DISEASES.

THE DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES, DR. K.L. THONG, SAID THIS AT THE INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF THE HONG KONG COLLEGE OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS THIS (SUNDAY) AFTERNOON.

HE POINTED OUT THAT ONE IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THE PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN HONG KONG IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH SERVICES AND ITS PREVENTIVE HEALTH PROGRAMMES OVER THE PAST THREE DECADES.

THESE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES, HE SAID, HAVE MADE TREMENDOUS IMPACT ON THE INFANT MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY RATES WHICH ARE +COMPARABLE TO SOME OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD.+

+THE PATTERN OF DISEASES HAS CHANGED SO DRAMATICALLY THAT WE ARE NOW IN THE BIG LEAGUE OF THE ADVANCED COUNTRIES, HE ADDED.

DR. THONG EXPLAINED THAT PRIMARY HEALTH CARE IS A SYSTEM OF ESSENTIAL HEALTH CARE MADE UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE TO INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES IN A COMMUNITY BY MEANS ACCEPTABLE TO THEM THROUGH FULL PARTICIPATION AND AT A COST THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN AFFORD.

+PRIMARY HEALTH CARE FOCUSES ITS SERVICES ON THE MAIN HEALTH PROBLEMS IN A COMMUNITY PROVIDING PROMOTIVE, PREVENTIVE, CURATIVE AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES ACCORDING TO THE COUNTRY'S NEEDS, HE SAID.

REGRETTABLY, HE CONTINUED, THERE ARE MANY COUNTRIES WHERE MUCH OF THE HEALTH RESOURCES AND TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AVAILABLE HAVE BEEN UTILISED IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY ARE NOT EQUITABLY DISTRIBUTED,

+ IN SUCH COUNTRIES LIMITED RESOURCES SOMETIMES HAVE BEEN USED TO SUPPORT SOPHISTICATED MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS WITHOUT, AT THE SAME TIME, PROVIDING FOR THE BASIC PRIMARY HEALTH CARE WHICH SHOULD BE MADE WIDELY AVAILABLE TO THE MAJORITY WHO NEEDS IT, HE ADDED.

IN THE CONTEXT OF HONG KONG, SAID DR. THONG, OUR PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SYSTEM HAS AS ITS NUCLEUS THE WIDESPREAD AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE GENERAL OUT-PATIENT SERVICES BOTH IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS.

+THIS IS THE FRONTIER WHERE PATIENTS FIRST CONTACT THE PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SYSTEM AND WHERE SERIOUS AND NON-SERIOUS CASES. ACUTE AND NON-ACUTE PATIENTS ARE FIRST SEEN, DIAGNOSED AND TREATED AND, WHERE MEASURES CAN BE TAKEN IN CERTAIN CASES, WHICH WILL PREVENT MORE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES FROM OCCURRING LATER, HE SAID.