A top official said yesterday that the Health Department would adopt 'an open attitude' about reviewing its methadone-clinic services, after criticism earlier by the Audit Commission about its clinics being underused.
'Concerning the Audit Commission's suggestion, we will adopt an open attitude, and we will seriously review the clinics' use and their services, to see if there are any ways that we can further utilise resources,' Health Department Director Lam Ping-yan said.
His comments came after the audit director on Wednesday called for a shake-up of treatment programmes for drug users to tackle a sharp rise in the use of psychotropic drugs such as Ecstasy and cocaine.
The audit report claimed that methadone clinics were underused, despite the fact that 67 per cent of the HK$163 million spent by the government last year on voluntary treatment and rehabilitation was earmarked for heroin addicts.
That was in light of the fact that new admissions of heroin addicts to methadone clinics had fallen 77 per cent over the past decade.
However, Dr Lam said the Health Department had not wasted government resources. 'Over many years, methadone clinics' usage rate has not dropped,' he said.
