Government doctors have rejected a proposal to transfer 65 Department of Health outpatient clinics to the Hospital Authority, saying it would lead to more expensive health care.
The 360-strong Government Doctors Association said primary care would be dominated by a 'specialists' mind-set' if the transfer, proposed in the consultation paper on health-care reform, went ahead.
About 200 Department of Health doctors would be affected by the proposal.
'Experience in the United States indicates that when primary care is made subservient to specialist care, it leads to a higher overall health expenditure, as a result of overuse of hi-tech investigations and treatments,' the association said in a submission to the Health and Welfare Bureau yesterday. 'In contrast, in the United Kingdom, where primary care takes the leading role, overall health expenditure is better controlled.'
The consultation exercise ends on Saturday.
Dr Poon Wai-ming, association vice-chairman, said a survey of members showed 62 per cent would prefer to transfer to other department services if the transfer went ahead and five per cent said they would quit.