Speeches

The Federation of Medical Societies of Hong Kong
Annual Scientific Meeting 2017 –
“Innovations in Medical Care”
Opening Remarks by the Secretary for Food and Health
10 September 2017

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Good morning. Dr (Mario) CHAK (President of FMSHK),
Prof (Gilberto) LEUNG (Vice President of Hong Kong Academy of Medicine),
Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

  1. First of all, a warm welcome to you all to this year’s Annual Scientific Meeting of The Federation of Medical Societies of Hong Kong.
  2. Thanks to the diligence, dedication and professionalism of our healthcare workers, Hong Kong is blessed with one of the most efficient healthcare systems of high standard in the world.
  3. Despite health indices consistently ranking amongst the best internationally, our public healthcare system is facing obvious pressure and increasing challenges due to rapidly ageing population, rising public demand for healthcare services and increasing threats of diseases. This could be well reflected by the congestion in AEDs and acute clinical wards of nearly all public hospitals in the recent seasonal influenza periods. To address the demand/supply imbalance, the Hong Kong SAR Government strives to maintain the balance between the public and private healthcare sectors in our dual track healthcare system and to meet the long term healthcare needs of our population through various healthcare reform initiatives.
  4. On public healthcare services, we will continue to increase investment in healthcare facilities and make improvements through redevelopment of existing hospitals and construction of new ones. We are implementing our first ever hospital development plan with a concrete financial commitment of 200 billion HK dollars. On private healthcare services, we will continue to enhance public-private partnership programmes and strengthen the regulatory regime for private healthcare facilities. We are also committed to promoting the long-term development of primary health care, Chinese medicine and mental health, and introducing a Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme.
  5. Besides, government efforts in enhancing our healthcare services in Hong Kong, we also need to work even closer with our medical professions in search of the latest medical advancement to upgrade our healthcare system. Nowadays, advances in medical and information technologies have brought about big changes to the ways we practise medicine. We need to keep abreast of the latest medical developments and innovations to better prepare ourselves in face of the numerous challenges.
  6. I am glad that the Federation of Medical Societies of Hong Kong has organised this Scientific Meeting which provides a platform for the exchange of recent advancement in various specialty medicine, and their application in improving the diagnosis and treatment of patients. For over 50 years, the Federation stays at the forefront of advancing medical practice in Hong Kong. May I take this opportunity to thank the Federation for its tremendous contribution to the development of the medical sector in Hong Kong.
  7. Last but not least, I believe that all of you are aware of the establishment of the new government term on 1 July 2017. As the Secretary for Food and Health, to safeguard public health, provide quality medical services, ensure food safety and environmental hygiene as well as assisting the sustainable development of fishery and agriculture will be top priorities on my agenda. My team and I will continue to work hard for the betterment of Hong Kong.
  8. I wish you all an exciting and fruitful exchange at the scientific meeting. Thank you.
12 Apr 2019