XN000022-1996-05-08 — Page 44

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Waiting time for consultation in TM and YL clinics

Following is a question by the Hon Ho Chun-yan and a written reply by the Secretary for Health and Welfare, Mrs Katherine Fok, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

Reply:

Will the Government inform this Council:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(a)

of the number of patients seeking treatment, the average waiting time for obtaining discs, and the average waiting time for medical consultation in the general out-patient clinics run by the Department of Health in Yuen Long and Tuen Mun during the past three years;

of the breakdown of these clinics by name, location, current staff establishment, daily quota of consultations and daily average number of chips handed out;

which of these clinics provide evening and holiday out-patient services, and what the opening hours and daily quota of consultations in such services are; and

whether the Department of Health will extend the evening and holiday out-patient services in Yuen Long and Tuen Mun, so as to reduce the number of patients seeking treatment at the accidents and emergency departments of Tuen Mun Hospital and Pok Oi Hospital in the evening and during public holidays?

In 1993, 1994 and 1995, the number of medical consultations provided at the general out-patient clinics in Yuen Long and Tuen Mun districts were 420,946, 489,954 and 573,003 repectively. Consultation discs, each bearing the estimated consultation time, are distributed from 8:45 am for the morning session and from 1:45 pm for the afternoon session. Normally, the discs will all be distributed in about an hour, except in some larger clinics where the consultation capacity is large. Patients are able to receive treatment within 60 minutes of the time specified in the discs, in the past three years. A pre-booked appointment system is also available for patients with chronically ill patients who will receive treatment within thirty minutes of the scheduled appointment.