To comment on the medical and health care portions in this year’s Policy Address is, frankly, an unwanted job. Putting aside the part regarding Covid, the Report has fewer than 800 words in Chinese on medical and health care. The Chief Executive boasted that the democrats criticized the Policy Address is only aimed at flattering the central government because the Address is “impeccable”. I absolutely agree with her on that. At least for the part regarding medical and healthcare, it is truly impeccable, because people simply cannot find any actual content to criticize. Even in the Q&A session with the pro-Beijing legislators, none had asked about the medical and health care portion. Everyone was concerned about the admission of non-locally trained doctors without examination.

As per usual, in order to win any debate, the Chief Executive twisted and distorted facts, and distracted and blurred everyone’s vision. The discussion of the admission of non-locally trained doctors should have the focus on how to evaluate their professionalism, and whether such a policy would help alleviate the strain on doctors in the public medical system, instead of ranting about the tangential “children of Hong Kong” wordings. Where professional standards are concerned, examinations are the most effective and efficient method. And as people who were produced under this system, the Hong Kong Medical Practitioners Association also believes that the practice examination system should be safeguarded. If the import of non-locally trained doctors is to increase the professional standards of public medical services, then they should be arranged to be stationed at public hospitals and the Department of Health. A limited number of registrations can be arranged for those who have yet to pass the Hong Kong Licensing Examination to work in the Hospital Authority, the Department of Health, and universities. With an optimized system, a limited number of registered doctors currently working in the Hospital Authority can also enjoy specialist training and promotion. Therefore, the current relevant system is already able to respond to this issue. Our industry has always maintained “rational”, but the government has had very little “communication” with us.

The several items under the health care section addressed by the Policy Address include district health centers, elderly dental service subsidies, drug subsidies, and support for patients with uncommon diseases have always existed. The Address has not laid out the details for upgrading these services. The first regional health center in Hong Kong, the Kwai Tsing District Health Center, has been in service for over a year. There have not been reviews of its work so far, and many branch centers are suspected to have been halted their services during Covid, and did not participate in community epidemic prevention efforts. The Address mentioned that other district health centers will be invited to submit tenders and offer services, therefore the government should review the work of Kwai Tsing District Health Center in the past year as soon as possible.

Moreover, the Address stated that the government has decided to provide an additional HK$300 million (US$38.7 million) in anti-drug efforts, to strengthen community support for citizens with mental health needs, and to raise awareness of mental health in the community. I asked my colleagues in the psychiatric department about this, but nobody has a clear idea of what this plan is. At present, psychiatric clinics have long waiting time, and non-emergency new cases have to wait for as long as a year. The Address did not mention additional resources to go into strengthening psychiatric clinic services or expanding public-private collaborations among psychiatric clinics. Because of the social movements, many students and youngsters have suffered emotional distress. The government should strengthen the support of school social workers.

In Hong Kong, the prevention of Covid is essentially a political issue. Although the Chief Executive has stressed time and again the formulation of policies based on scientific data, members of the expert group have said repeatedly clarified that they were not a part of the detailed discussions; the government and the pro-Beijing camp synced in their decisions, and have not opened up the platform for people to contribute their opinions. Controversial issues, such as quarantine and border control measures, the tracking app “Leave Home Safe”, the Universal Community Testing Programme, and even vaccine procurement, were all decided by the government that goes on proceeding accordingly. There is no room for rational discussion. The citizens must decide by themselves the pros and cons of participating. The industry is of course very concerned about the issue of public medical services following the epidemic. The government has not considered putting more resources into “catching up”; in the face of the economic downturn, it is likely that we will follow the footsteps of post-SARS in 2003 and repeat the same mistakes of cutting medical expenses. Unfortunately, the current Legislative Council has lost its ability to monitor the government.

The Chief Executive said that she hoped to fight a “peaceful battle without gunpowder” with the doctors. This reflects that the “rational discussions” she throws around in her speeches are but slogans. The abuser of power who points her guns at others, while chanting the care for the oppressed and lamenting her grievances…what a performance that raises some eyebrows.

(Arisina Ma Chung-yee, President of the Hong Kong Public Doctors’ Association)

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