Reinforcing Healthcare Services

119.    The recurrent expenditure on medical and health services for 2013-14 will reach $49 billion, an increase of $2.7 billion over 2012-13.  The bulk of the additional funding is for new recurrent allocation to the Hospital Authority (HA) to enhance and expand appropriate public medical services.

120.    To cope with the ever-increasing demand for medical services, the HA will add 290 acute patient beds and convalescent beds, and increase the quota at general out-patient clinics for patients with episodic diseases in the coming year.  The HA will also refine the waiting list management of specialist out-patient clinics to shorten the waiting time for such services.  On elderly medical services, the HA will strengthen the treatment of degenerative diseases to meet the service demands of an ageing population.

121.    The Government is committed to promoting mental health and has in recent years introduced various initiatives to enhance community support for mental patients with a view to facilitating their rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.  To enhance community support for patients with severe mental illness, the HA launched the Case Management Programme in April 2010, which now covers 12 districts.  Since its launch, the Programme has provided intensive and personalised community support for over 11 000 mental patients.  The HA will roll out the Programme to three more districts in 2013-14 and achieve full coverage in the coming two years.  Additional funding of $12.5 million will be allocated to the Social Welfare Department to increase the staff resources of the Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness to dovetail with the HA's Programme.  Also, we plan to use $8 billion to redevelop Kwai Chung Hospital to strengthen care and support for mental patients.

122.    In the next financial year, we shall allocate an additional $44 million to include in the HA Drug Formulary two chemotherapeutic drugs for cancer treatment and expand the application of two special drugs for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease and cancer.  Following the injection of $10 billion into the Samaritan Fund by the Government last year, the financial assessment criteria for drug subsidies were relaxed last September to benefit more patients in need.