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Our interviewees highlighted the importance for a centralised governmental plan, or an
official organisation which could lead PHC development in Hong Kong. Yet, Hospital
Authority, the main health service provider in Hong Kong, was deemed unsuitable to take on
this role due to fundamental differences in mandates and guiding principles from that of
PHC. Primary care, our stakeholders pointed out, would not be prioritised under the current
structure of HA which focuses on the provision of secondary and tertiary care. The idea of
establishing a Primary Care Authority, as suggested in the 1990 report Health for all,
the way ahead: report of the Working Party on Primary Health Care (for further details, please
refer to section 3.2.2) was brought up by our stakeholders, in hopes of better coordinating
primary care in the region. This suggestion, however, was not universally aligned–some
academics worried about further bureaucratisation of healthcare in Hong Kong if
a new agency was added within the current intricate structure.
Stakeholders’ voices
The focus of the Hospital Authority should be hospitals and the primary
care should have its own governing body… Primary care will not be the
priority of the Hospital Authority no matter what, because there are so
many different specialties and primary health is just one of them.
Primary care would never be respected within the Authority. There will
always be limitations, because that’s not the mandate of Hospital
Authority to improve primary care…
Academic
We need to establish a Primary Care Authority or Office instead
of simply employing a few outsiders with no understanding of
primary care. There will be a serious problem if primary care
development was led by people without proper understanding,
knowledge and concept.
NGO representative
This Primary Care Authority will be chaired by famous giants
in family medicine or the broader medical field–this will just
lead to more bureaucracy and rigidity in the system.
Academic
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