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Following is a transcript of the remarks by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a stand-up media session at the Legislative Council Building today (October 17)(English session):
Reporter: (about live pork prices)
Secretary for Food and Health: The wholesale price has been down almost 30%, particularly from the source, and sometimes even more. Earlier this year, about eight to nine months ago, the price is about $1,800 or almost $2,000 per 100 catties, but now it has gone down to about $800 to $1,200. This is a significant drop. But we do not see the same type of price decrease at the retail level. That is why we think that it is something that the consumers should know and should make their choice.
Reporter: (about food recall law)
Secretary for Food and Health: We will introduce to the Legislative Council in November amendment to a law which allows the authorities to exercise an order to prohibit sale to ensure that there is no import, or even recall and destroy problem food. This would give the authorities the power to do all that with reasonable suspicion. That would also ensure that some of the suspicious food products in Hong Kong would not be sold to the public and hopefully alleviate the panic of the public. This proposal received unanimous support from all the legislators today. I am very grateful to them.
Reporter: (about health care reform)
Secretary for Food and Health: One of the proposals we have in the Policy Address and Policy Agenda is to have innovative ways of looking after the chronically ill patients. We estimated that there is half a million of them, with the condition of about two-third of them being stable. At the moment, they can only go to government clinics every four months or so, mainly to have tests and collect their medication. I think if we can have an option for them to also have interim follow-up with private doctors, they can have better care. We feel that there will be a good opportunity to improve the quality of care. It will also increase the access of care and minimise the complication rates and hospitalisation rates of these patients.
Reporter: But services at public hospitals will not be reduced, right?
Secretary for Food and Health: No. In fact with the increase of Government commitment in financing health care, we will be both increasing the subsidy to the Hospital Authority as well as investing in this innovative way of health care. We will see how it goes. The public should be reassured that we are not diminishing the support to the Hospital Authority.
Reporter: (about health care reform)
Secretary for Food and Health: In the first stage of our consultation, we have very good consensus on some of the service reforms. We have a bit of diverse opinion regarding financing, but not that we do not have some common elements. We are now doing analysis and trying to get these common elements together to have an option that will be acceptable to the public. Of course a concern now is whether the financial situation in Hong Kong is so poor and people are willing to discuss something so long term. But I think this is something that would affect us all and particularly our next generation. It is prudent for us to ensure that the public know what the problem is and what we are facing in future. Hopefully, by the first half of next year, we will be able to produce a second document.
Reporter: As people suffer from the financial tsunami, do you expect that the pressure on public hospitals will increase as people turn to public hospitals instead of the private ones?
Secretary for Food and Health: The past experience is when the financial or economic situation of Hong Kong is bad, more people would seek health care services from the public sector than the private sector. The burden of the Hospital Authority would be increasing in the coming months.
Reporter: (inaudible)
Secretary for Food and Health: We have increased the resources of the Hospital Authority over the last two years. We will increase the resources again next year. We are also buying services from the private side so that we can increase the total capacity of health care.
(Please also refer to the Chinese session.)
Ends/Friday, October 17, 2008
Issued at HKT 18:46
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