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The system has evolved as a response to rapid technological advancement so that patients are not deprived of certain medical items which are outside the normal hospital inventory. In general, the privately purchased items are expensive products of new medical technology at the time of their introduction. They are either implanted into an individual patient or used only once on a patient. The high costs of these items have rendered public hospitals not to stock them as part of the normal inventory. In recent years, we have progressively reduced the list of "privately purchased items" taking into account the target group of patients, financial implications involved and the impact in the treatment process. However, it is difficult to quantify the proportion of treatment cost borne by patients in purchasing their medical items since it will vary according to the nature of each individual case.

In response to concern expressed by the community and Honourable Members of this Council, I undertook in May last year to abolish certain privately purchased medical items required by chronically ill patients, to relax assessment criteria of the Samaritan Fund, and to freeze the introduction of new items pending outcome of our overall review of health care financing. The circular issued by the Hospital Authority on 25 November 1995 is only a formal announcement of this arrangement and does not impose new charges, so consulting the public was not appropriate.

End

NT buildings under Government Land Licence

Following is a question by the Hon Lau Wong-fat and a written reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands. Mr Bowen Leung, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

At present, there are still some buildings constructed under a Government Land Licence (GLL) in the New Territories, and some of these buildings have been in existence for a long time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)

of the present number of such buildings in the New Territories, the areas in which they are located, the total number of residents and the year in which they were first built;