上星期五立法會衛生事務委員會進行了本立法年度最後一次會議，當中有三個議程，主要討論口腔健康調查報告與及開設顧問醫生首長級常額職位，以及醫院管理局就公立醫院管理系統作出討論。
The Legislative Council's Health Services Panel held its last meeting of this legislative year on last Friday. There were three agenda items, including discussions on the oral health survey report and the creation of permanent director-level posts of consultant doctors, as well as the Hospital Authority's discussion on the public hospital management system.
衞生署建議開設一個顧問醫生首長級常額職位，以加強社區口腔健康護理。這個職位的設立是為了跟進和推動工作小組的口腔行動計劃，並統籌這些計劃的落實工作。由於衞生署及醫管局的口腔合面部分將進行整合，未來會刪除衞生署部分的編制，因此開設六個首長級顧問牙醫職位是適切的做法。
當中自由黨的張宇人對此有保留，認為目前牙醫人手不足，增加統籌型職位未必能解決問題，並擔心隨著顧問職位的增加，附屬職位也會相應增加，質疑是否有必要設立常設職位。
衞生署回應指出，將會因服務重整而刪除六個首長級顧問牙醫職位，雖然未必是「一換一」的情況，但設立專責職位跟進社區口腔護理工作具迫切性。例如，2025年推出的「青少年護齒共同治理計劃」及「社區牙科支援計劃」均需要大量跟進工作及統籌。
主席表示，由於大多數與會議員對此項目表示支持或保留，將會把提案提交立法會人事編制小組委員會進行後續審議。
The Department of Health proposes creating a permanent Chief Consultant Dentist position to enhance community oral health care. This position is intended to follow up and promote the oral health action plans initiated by the working group, requiring dedicated personnel to coordinate the implementation of these plans. Due to the integration of the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority's oral and maxillofacial services, six Chief Consultant Dentist positions will be established, making the creation of new positions appropriate.
Hon Tommy Cheung from the Liberal Party has reservations, noting that the main issue is the shortage of dentists. He questions whether adding a coordinating position will solve this problem and is concerned that the addition of consultants might lead to an increase in related subordinate positions, questioning the necessity of making the position permanent.
The Department of Health responds that six Chief Consultant Dentist positions will be eliminated due to service restructuring. Although it may not be a "one-for-one" replacement, the department believes a dedicated position is urgently needed to follow up on community oral health care. For example, the "Youth Dental Co-governance Program" and the "Community Dental Support Program" launching in 2025 require extensive follow-up and coordination.
The chairperson notes that most attending members either support or have reservations about the project. Considering the members' opinions, the chairperson will submit the proposal to the Legislative Council's Establishment Subcommittee for further review.
是項議程共有6位議員發言，醫務衞生局局長盧寵茂指因應近年公立醫院醫療事故，醫管局已於6月就公立醫院管理系統展開全面檢討，後續責成8人檢討委員會提出31項建議，相關建議及行動計劃已呈交醫衞局並獲局方同意。
陳健波議員及田北辰議員贊同報告建議把安全指標納入高層管理人員績效評估、賞懲掛鈎，唯田北辰議員關注醫院維修總監等職系之薪酬加幅會否與事故次數掛鈎。醫管局行政總裁高拔陞回應指，以指標評估高層人員工作，並與增薪掛鈎是合理方向。
邵家輝議員及陳凱欣議員對醫衞局有意將港島東西聯網合併的計劃表示關注，尤其是東區醫院的服務及病床數目會否因合併而受到影響。盧寵茂重申港島東西聯網合併不會影響東區醫院的運作，更不存在「殺院」情況，而聯網合併後將有利港島區公立醫院的資源調配，相互合作，帶來服務的質量提升；又表示病床安排仍在全盤考慮當中，所有醫院發展計劃將適時提交立法會進行充足討論，現階段並不宜作任何判斷。
Six legislators spoke on this agenda. Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau stated that in response to recent medical incidents in public hospitals, the Hospital Authority (HA) launched a comprehensive review of the public hospital management system in June. Subsequently, an eight-member review committee proposed 31 recommendations, which were submitted to and approved by the Health Bureau.
Legislators Hon. Chan Kin-por and Hon. Michael Tien agreed with the report's recommendation to include safety indicators in the performance evaluations of senior management, linking rewards and penalties. However, Michael expressed concern about whether the salary increases for positions such as hospital maintenance directors would be linked to the number of incidents. HA Chief Executive Tony Ko responded that evaluating senior personnel based on indicators and linking it to salary increases is a reasonable direction.
Legislators Hon Peter Shiu and Hon Chan Hoi Yan expressed concerns about the Health Bureau's plan to merge the Hong Kong Island East and West clusters, particularly whether the services and number of beds at Eastern Hospital would be affected by the merger. Lo Chung-mau reiterated that the merger of the Hong Kong Island East and West clusters would not affect the operation of Eastern Hospital, and there is no situation of "killing the hospital." He added that the merger would facilitate resource allocation and cooperation among public hospitals on Hong Kong Island, leading to improved service quality. He also mentioned that bed arrangements are still under comprehensive consideration, and all hospital development plans will be submitted to the Legislative Council for thorough discussion in due course. At this stage, it is not appropriate to make any judgments.
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