HEALTH Department heads were yesterday accused by legislators, social workers and doctors of shirking their responsibilities to the elderly.
A survey revealed elderly people had to wait hours, often in the cold, before seeing a government doctor.
The findings came as the Public Doctors' Association described Health Director Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chan's statement on the deaths of old people during the cold snap as 'deplorable'.
Dr Yip Wai-chun, president of the 1,400-strong association, contradicted Dr Chan's statement that health services for the elderly were adequate, saying many old people did not know what was available or could not get to clinics.
His criticisms were confirmed by survey results produced by the Elderly Rights League yesterday, which found elderly people waited at least three months for orthopaedic or surgical care, and seven months for ophthalmology.
The survey found more than 70 per cent of the 521 respondents aged 60 or above complained of waiting an average of two hours outside government clinics for tickets for out-patient service.
