There is a serious shortage of dental services in public hospitals. The government said it would work with non-governmental organizations next year to provide emergency dental services to disadvantaged groups with financial difficulties through a new service model. The goal is to provide at least twice the current number of dental street clinics. The authorities will also review the cost-effectiveness and arrangements of dental street clinics and consider whether to introduce economic conditions or other reviews for emergency dental services.
The Legislative Council’s Public Accounts Committee earlier made recommendations on the Audit Department’s criticism of dental services. The government today said in the Legislative Council that it had accepted all the recommendations of the committee on emergency dental services and dental care support for the elderly, as well as rehabilitation buses.
In terms of improving street dental clinic services, the Government said that the Department of Health has adjusted the initial registration time of nine dental clinics to avoid the elderly waiting until midnight. An online electronic fundraising and registration system will be launched before the end of this year, giving priority to the elderly aged 65 or above for registration.
The Government also said that the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority have also started discussions on merging hospital dental services and considering the opinions and suggestions contained in the audit report. The Department of Health is also recruiting local full-time and part-time dentists throughout the year. The latest batch of 10 part-time contract dentists have arrived in July to September this year, and the first batch of non-local training dentists will come to Hong Kong to practice through the new mechanism in the first quarter of next year. In the future, the Government will also strive to develop grassroots dental care services to help citizens manage their oral health.
In terms of providing and monitoring rehab bus services, the Government said the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Transport Department are actively following up. The Transport Department is collecting data on the travel needs of disabled people through rehab bus operators to assess the demand for rehab bus services. After receiving the relevant data and assessment, the Labour and Welfare Bureau will review the policy and mode of service provision. The Transport Department is also reviewing the memorandum of understanding currently signed with operators and studying the adoption of other legally binding regulatory models.
Related topics:
