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Health

operate community clinics, and many also organise health promotions and educational activities. Some NGOs provide health assessments for the elderly and medical check-ups for

women.

The public sector provides primary health care mainly through the Department of Health and Hospital Authority. The Hospital Authority operates 73 general outpatient clinics, including community health centres. These clinics focus on serving the elderly, low-income families and chronic disease patients. In 2019, some 1.65 million people used these services, with 6.33 million attendances recorded.

To push ahead with district-based primary health care, the bureau is spearheading the setting up of district health centres in all 18 districts. Each centre will be operated by an NGO with government funding to promote medical-social collaboration, public-private partnership and district-based services. It will focus on primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, including health promotion, health assessment, chronic disease management and community rehabilitation. The first district health centre, in Kwai Tsing, began operation in September.

Family Health

The Family Health Service under the Department of Health disseminates information on children's and women's health. The department provides health promotion and disease prevention services through its 31 maternal and child health centres (MCHCs) and three women's health centres for children from birth to five years of age and women aged 64 or below respectively. MCHCS offer an Integrated Child Health and Development Programme for parents and caregivers to promote the holistic health and well-being of children.

For women, MCHCs and women's health centres offer antenatal, postnatal, family planning and cervical screening services, as well as health education on areas including psycho-social health, personal relationships, physical health and healthy lifestyles. Some 24,400 expectant mothers and 53,000 newborn children attended MCHCs in 2019.

The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong offers services and information on sexual and reproductive health treatment and counselling. In 2019, more than 400,000 people used its services or took part in its programmes.

Student Health

In November, the numbers of student health service centres and special assessment centres under the department increased by one each, to 13 and four respectively, providing health screening and individual counselling to primary and secondary students. In the 2018-19 school year, about 639,000 students joined these programmes. School health inspectors check schools' hygiene conditions in accordance with the Education Ordinance, while the department's Centre for Health Protection sends school immunisation teams to primary schools every year to give students free vaccinations.

Under the School Dental Care Service, the department's eight school dental clinics provided preventive dental services, including annual check-ups and basic care, in the 2018-19 school

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