ENG-2009 — Page 222

162 | Health

accounting for 24 per cent of overall expenditure on inpatient services in the public and private sectors.

Healthcare Service Development and Infrastructure

Public Hospitals Development Project

A number of public hospital projects being carried out will help enhance healthcare services in different parts of Hong Kong. These include an extension of Prince of Wales Hospital, preparatory work on the redevelopment of Yan Chai Hospital, expansion of Tseung Kwan O Hospital, relocation of Siu Lam Hospital to Block B of Castle Peak Hospital, North Lantau Hospital Phase 1 and redevelopment of Caritas Medical Centre Phase 2.

Public-private Partnership Projects in Healthcare Services

Through the Hospital Authority, the Government has launched a series of public-private partnership (PPP) pilot projects to promote the PPP concept in healthcare services. These include a Cataract Surgeries Programme, launched in February 2008, which subsidises cataract operations performed by private ophthalmologists participating in the programme. By the end of 2009, a total of 81 ophthalmologists had taken part in the programme and 8 781 patients had enrolled, 7 100 of whom underwent cataract surgery.

The Hospital Authority has also been running a PPP pilot project for provision of primary care in Tin Shui Wai since June 2008. Under this project, healthcare services are purchased from the private sector to treat chronically-ill patients living in Tin Shui Wai North who need long-term follow-up treatment at general outpatient clinics. Participating patients receive a Government subsidy and are allowed to choose any doctor taking part in the project to attend to them. At the end of 2009, six private doctors and 1 120 patients had enrolled in the project.

To enhance primary healthcare services for the elderly and to facilitate continuity of care, the Government implemented in January 2009 a three-year Elderly Health Care Voucher Pilot Scheme under which five $50 healthcare vouchers are given annually to patients aged 70 or above to defray part of the cost of the primary healthcare service provided by private doctors participating in the scheme.

Up to the end of 2009, a total of 2 539 healthcare service providers and 274 295 elderly patients had enrolled in the scheme and 802 453 vouchers had been used.

The Government introduced in 2008-09 a number of vaccination schemes through the PPP. These included a childhood influenza vaccination subsidy scheme, and a vaccination subsidy scheme for the elderly to increase the number of vaccination service providers and to give the public more choice of providers. The aim is to extend the service to more target groups to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.