HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE
COUNCIL-8 March 1989 香港立法局————————————一九八九年三月八日
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implemented in the short term. Let me give a few examples of short-term measures which I have already asked the Director of Medical and Health Services to implement
(a) Out-patient service: "a block appointment" system is already in force in a number of out-patient clinics. It is our intention to extend this system to the other clinics in the near future. This will considerably shorten the waiting time for patients. In addition, a system for keeping patients' records will be introduced on a trial basis in a few general out-patient clinics next month. Such a system already exists in the specialist out-patient clinics.
(b) Supply of linen: action is being taken to increase the stock of hospital linen to alleviate the immediate shortages while longer-term solutions are being worked out to overcome the long-standing high-wastage and circulation difficulties.
(c) Pharmacy service in regional hospitals: as a start, the closing hour of the pharmacy in Queen Elizabeth Hospital will be extended from 5.00 pm to 10.00 pm within the next couple of weeks.
(d) Clerical and other support services for doctors: 22 additional secretarial and clerical posts will be created in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital this month and another 47 posts will be created shortly afterwards for the other three regional hospitals.
Where overcrowding is concerned, obviously one of the longer-term solutions is the provision of more hospital beds. In this regard, an additional 5 000 beds will become available in new or extended government and subvented hospitals over the next three to four years. This medium-term increase of 23% over the current number of beds should go a long way towards reducing the current overcrowding. For the more immediate future I shall make a determined effort to see if shorter-term solutions can be found to reduce some of the existing overcrowding.
Another major concern is the high wastage rate of government doctors. It is clear that the Government must provide terms and conditions of service, including promotion prospects, which are attractive enough to retain in the public service those doctors who find service in the public sector more rewarding professionally and more satisfying personally than private practice. The package of improvements in this regard that we have decided upon was announced three months ago. And here, Sir, I would disagree to the view that we have been moving at a snail's pace. I need now only to report on the progress that has been achieved in implementing it-
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