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Health

Both initiatives have been providing free and subsidised 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV) to eligible elderly people aged 65 years or above since 2009. As from 2017-18, an additional dose of free or subsidised 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) has been offered to elderly people aged 65 years or above who have high-risk conditions. The subsidies paid to private doctors for the PCV13 and 23vPPV are $730 and $190 per dose respectively.

Non-communicable Diseases

The major killers in Hong Kong are cancer, heart and cerebrovascular diseases, which together accounted for about 51 per cent of all registered deaths in 2017. Elderly people are the major victims of these chronic non-communicable diseases.

The Cancer Coordinating Committee, chaired by the Secretary for Food and Health, steers and recommends the strategies and work for the prevention and control of cancer, which claimed more than 14,300 lives locally in 2017. The Department of Health's Cervical Screening Programme encourages women aged 25 to 64 who have ever had sex to undergo regular cervical cancer screening. In 2017, about 106,700 women underwent screening.

In September 2016, the department launched a three-year Colorectal Cancer Screening Pilot Programme to provide subsidised screening for Hong Kong residents born in the years 1946 to 1955 in phases to prevent colorectal cancer. By end-2017, 55,000 participants had joined the

programme.

Regulatory Activities

Healthcare Professionals

As at end-2017, 14,290 doctors, 2,500 dentists, 10,048 listed and registered Chinese medicine practitioners, 54,231 registered and enrolled nurses, 4,611 midwives, 2,753 pharmacists, 218 chiropractors, 3,091 physiotherapists, 2,070 occupational therapists, 3,567 medical laboratory technologists, 2,198 optometrists, 2,293 radiographers and 443 dental hygienists were registered in Hong Kong.

The Pilot Scheme of Accredited Registers for Healthcare Professions was launched in 2016 to enhance the society-based registration arrangements of healthcare professions currently not subject to statutory regulation, so as to ensure the professional competency of healthcare. personnel and provide more information for the public to make informed decisions. The profession of speech therapist is the first to undergo accreditation under the scheme.

Western Medicine

Western medicine in Hong Kong is regulated under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance. Acting on the authority of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, the department evaluates and approves applications for registration of pharmaceutical products, issues licences to drug manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, and takes action against the illegal sale of controlled drugs. The department also enforces regulatory controls on poisons, antibiotics and dangerous. drugs for medicinal use.

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