ENG-2013 — Page 184

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Health

In line with the international trend to focus more on community and ambulatory care in the treatment of mental illness, the HA also operates cluster-based community psychiatric services. covering the 18 districts of Hong Kong. In 2012-13, about 238,800 community psychiatric outreach attendances and about 96,400 psychogeriatric outreach attendances were recorded. The HA also plans to extend the case management programme for patients with severe mental illness to cover all districts in 2014-15, serving some 17,000 patients residing in the community.

Other Special Services

The DH operates various specialist clinics and centres to serve the public including 20 methadone clinics, 19 tuberculosis and chest clinics, seven social hygiene clinics, four dermatology clinics, two integrated treatment centres, four clinical genetic clinics, six child assessment centres, and two travel health centres. About 6.7 million visits to the DH's clinics and centres were recorded in 2013.

Healthcare Services Provided by Private and Non-governmental Organisations

The private care sector is the main provider of primary care in Hong Kong, and complements the public sector by providing a range of specialist and hospital services. Doctors of Western medicine, Chinese medicine practitioners, dentists, and other healthcare professionals (including nurses, chiropractors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, pharmacists and optometrists) are healthcare service providers in the private sector. In general, private healthcare services are not subsidised by the government (except for certain institutional or day-time long-term medical and nursing care and a few public-private partnership projects under the HA) and patients have to bear the full cost of using these services.

NGOs also provide healthcare services at different levels in Hong Kong, including operating community clinics offering primary care services.

In addition, many NGOs organise health promotion, educational and other healthcare-related activities. Some NGOs also provide health assessment services for the elderly, and medical check-ups for women. The Hong Kong St John Ambulance provides first aid training and services, while the Hong Kong Red Cross provides first aid training to promote first aid knowledge and skills. The Hong Kong Cancer Fund raises public awareness of cancer and encourages people to undertake regular cancer screening to minimise cancer risks.

Secondary, Tertiary and Specialised Healthcare Services

Secondary, tertiary and specialised healthcare services are provided mainly in the HA's hospitals and specialist clinics and in 2012-13, the HA spent about $37.3 billion on specialist outpatient and inpatient services. At the end of 2013, there were 27,400 public hospital beds, comprising 21,092 general beds, 2,041 infirmary beds, 3,607 beds for the mentally ill and 660 beds for the mentally handicapped. In addition, there were 3,882 beds in private hospitals, 4,617 in nursing homes and 821 in institutions run by the Correctional Services Department. There are 5.12 beds per thousand of population. Spending on secondary, tertiary and specialised healthcare services, including both public sector and private sector amounted to about $46.7 billion in

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Including all hospital beds in HA hospitals, private hospitals, nursing homes and correctional institutions.

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