bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

A 'strong portfolio' is needed to fight for more resources, says medical professor

Hong Kong needs to set up a ministry dedicated to public health in order to fight for resources and help combat infectious diseases such as Sars, according to a former director of health.

Lee Shiu-hung, who retired from his  post in 1994, is now professor of community medicine at the Chinese University. He said Hong Kong should have a 'strong and dedicated portfolio' to speak for public health. Public health is currently among  several policy areas  handled by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Yeoh Eng-kiong.

Professor Lee said that the Sars outbreak, which has caused 283 deaths in Hong Kong, has proved the importance of primary health care, public hygiene and health promotion.

He was appointed by the government last week to a nine-member expert panel, which will launch an investigation into the Sars outbreak and make recommendations on how to improve the health-care system.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Professor Lee said the government should consider setting up the post of secretary for public health.

When the government implemented the accountability system last year, there was a debate over whether Dr Yeoh's bureau, which takes up more than 30 per cent of the  budget, was too big for one person to manage.

Professor Lee said over the years the government had focused too much on hospital services but too little on public health.

The Department of Health, which is responsible for health prevention and controlling infectious disease, was operating on a budget just one-tenth that of the Hospital Authority.

'We need a full-time person to take up public health and fight for more resources. The existing role of the director of health is  on the executive level. The director just implements the policies set by the secretary,' Professor Lee said.

He also argued that Hong Kong should have its own centre for disease control and prevention, with support from experts in microbiology, epidemiology and community medicine.

Professor Lee said the panel did not intend to  allocate blame in its Sars investigation.

'It is always easy to speak from hindsight. Sars is different from other infectious diseases. At the early stages, we were not clear [about] the agent of the disease and its mode of transmission. There was no standard treatment or diagnosis. It was a very difficult situation.

'It was just like the situation when Aids was first discovered,'' said Professor Lee, who led the Health Department in its battle against cholera in the early 1960s. He admitted that there was 'sensitivity'' surrounding the panel, but said he did not worry that its findings would lack credibility.

'I take up the role because as a public health professional, I want to work for the good of the community,' he said.

Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa  has been criticised for appointing Dr Yeoh to chair the expert panel.

Democrat legislator Andrew Cheng Kar-foo agreed that Dr Yeoh had too many duties to take care of. 'Dr Yeoh is looking after three very important areas that relate so closely to our daily life. Each of these areas should have a designated policy secretary.''

Lo Wing-lok, the legislator representing the medical profession, said the director of health should be given more power.

'The director should report directly to the chief executive so he or she can make  medical decisions to protect lives,  [which] would not be affected by political or economic considerations.''



Call for a ministry dedicated to promoting public health