Prevention better than cure: Kwun Tong Community Health Centre helping Hong Kong's growing elderly population stay one step ahead of chronic illness
Community centre, which is larger and more comfortable than the old clinic, will serve at least 200,000 patients per year
A new health centre in Kwun Tong is helping ease the pressure on public hospitals in an area that is at the sharp end of the challenges brought by the city's ageing population.
The Kwun Tong Community Health Centre opened in March on the ground floor of Park Metropolitan, a luxury housing complex on Yuet Wah Street. The Hospital Authority opened the facility to replace a 50-year-old public clinic.
Described by the authority as the first of its kind in Kowloon, the centre will focus on preventative medicine as it helps low- income elderly people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, respiratory problems, incontinence and hard-to-heal wounds. It includes a self-service area for patients to measure their blood pressure, height and weight.
"We are expanding our services because there are more and more elderly people," said Dr David Chao Vai-kiong, head of service in the department of family medicine and primary health care at the area's biggest hospital, United Christian.
"When there are more elderly residents, there will be more cases of chronic disease. So we see there is a greater demand. To meet the demand, we have to think about more than just adding consultation rooms.
"By offering risk assessments [for chronic diseases], we can better manage our patients so they won't have to come back as often, which will free up quotas for other patients.