minutes of the special meeting of€¦ · web view87. members noted the paper. (iii) progress...

Minutes of the 14 th Meeting of the HKSAR Second Term of Wong Tai Sin District Council

(Summary Translation)

Date: 10.1.2006 (Tuesday)Time: 2:30 p.m.Place: Conference Room, Wong Tai Sin District Office,

6/F, Lung Cheung Office Block,138 Lung Cheung Road,Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon.

Chairman:

Mr. WONG Kam-chi

Vice-chairman

Mr. KAN Chi-ho

Wong Tai Sin District Council Members:

Mr. CHAN Lee-shingMs. CHAN Man-ki, MaggieMr. CHAN On-taiMr. CHAN Wai-kwan, AndieMr. CHAN Yim-kwong, JoeMr. CHENG Tak-kin, Michael, JPMr. CHOW Ching-lamMr. CHUI Pak-taiMr. FUNG Kwong-chung, JPMr. HO Yin-faiMr. HUI Kam-shingMs. KWOK Sau-yingMr. LAI Wing-ho, JoeMr. LAM Man-fai, JPDr. LAU Chi-wang, James, JPMr. LAU Kar-wahMs. LEE Ming-pui, MavisMr. LEE Tat-yanDr. LI Sze-bay, Albert, JPMr. MOK Ying-fan

olo/Dc[M14]_2 1

Mr. NG Yiu-manMr. SHI Lop-takMr. SO Sik-kinHon. TAM Heung-manMs. TAM Yuet-ping, CeliaMr. TO Kwan-hang, AndrewMr. WONG Kwok-tungMr. WONG Yat-yukMr. WU Chi-wai

In attendance:Mrs. MA LO To-wan, Mary Commissioner for Rehabilitation HWFB )

)Re:Item

Mr. Philip YUEN Chief Officer (Rehabilitation) HKCSS ))

V(i)

Ms. Ada LAM Chairperson ADAHK ))

Ms. Sunnie LAI Project Officer ADAHK )))

Dr. Lawrence C.H. TANG Hospital Chief Executive, TWGHs Wong Tai Sin Hospital

HA Re:itemV(ii)

Dr. AU Yiu-kai Deputy Hospital Chief Executive, Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital

HA

Miss. Victoria TANG, JP DO WTSDO

Mr. Victor LEUNG Deputy Dist Commander HKPF

Mr. LEE Cert -quinn Ch Mgr/M (KE) HD

Ms. LEE Pui-chun, Dinah SWO (P/ C) (WTS/SK) SWD

Mr. Daniel SO DEHS (WTS) FEHD

Mr. WONG Kin-chung DLM (WTS) LCSD

Mr. WAN Yuen-hung, Eddie

TO (WTS) TD

Mr. WONG Chung-sang, Talis

Chief Engineer/Kln CEDD

Mr. Bryan HA ADO (WTS) WTSDO

olo/Dc[M14]_2 2

Mr. Patrick CHUNG SEO (DM) WTSDOMr. MA Kit-chi SLO (BM) WTSDOMr. HUI Wai-shing SLO (DL) WTSDOMs. Annie CHAN EOI (DC) WTSDO

Secretary:

Miss LEE Fuk-oi SEO (DC) WTSDO

I Opening Remarks

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the 14th meeting of the Wong Tai Sin District Council (WTSDC). He firstly welcomed the representatives of the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau (HWFB) and non-governmental organisations who attended the meeting for the agenda item ‘International Festival of Inclusive Arts 2006’:

Health, Welfare and Food Bureau

Mrs. MA LO To-wan, Mary Commissioner for Rehabilitation

The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS)

Mr. Philip YUEN Chief Officer (Rehabilitation)

Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong (ADAHK)

Ms. Ada LAM Chairperson

Ms. Sunnie LAI Project Officer

The Chairman would introduce the representative of the Hospital Authority who attended the meeting later when coming to the relevant agenda items.

2. The Chairman also welcomed the Government representatives who attended the meeting and introduced them to the Members:

olo/Dc[M14]_2 3

— Mr. Ian SEABOURNE, the District Commander (WTS) was absent due to official duties, and Mr. Victor LEUNG, Deputy District Commander, attended the meeting on his behalf.

— Mr. LEE Wing-wai, the District Social Welfare Officer (WTS/SK) was absent due to official duties, and Ms. LEE Pui-chun, Dinah, Social Welfare Officer (Planning and Coordination) (WTS/SK), attended the meeting on his behalf.

— Mr. SO Chun-chuen, the Senior Transport Officer was absent due to official duties, and Mr. WAN Yuen-hung, Eddie, Transport Officer (WTS), attended the meeting on his behalf.

— Mr. HUI Wai-shing, Senior Liaison Officer, who had been transferred out from the Wong Tai Sin District Office (WTSDO) for a short time, was transferred back following the completion of the 6th Ministerial Conference.

II Confirmation of the Minutes of the 13 th Meeting of WTSDC on 8.11.2005

3. The minutes of the 13th meeting of WTSDC held on 8.11.2005 were confirmed without amendment.

III. Confirmation of the Minutes of the Special Meeting of WTSDC on 15.11.2005

4. The minutes of the special meeting of WTSDC held on 15.11.2005 were confirmed without amendment.

IV Progress Report on Matters Arising from the 13 th Meeting of the Second Term of WTSDC(WTSDC Paper 1/2006)

5. Referring to paragraph 2 of the paper on “The Future Development of Nga Tsin Wai Village”, Mr. MOK Ying-fan pointed out that while the developer was carrying out drilling work in Nga Tsin Wai Village, two aged villagers died. This was a cause for discomfort among the villagers. Mr. MOK requested the developer to take into consideration the feelings of villagers and stop the drilling until achieving some form of consensus with

olo/Dc[M14]_2 4

the villagers.

6. Miss Victoria TANG remarked that the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) had all along kept close contact with villagers. She said that they had held a meeting with villagers on the evening of January 9 and believed that the residents had made known their requests.

7. Relating to paragraphs 3 to 4 of the paper on the establishment of the new Working Group on Government and Public Utilities Works Projects, Mr. LAI Wing-hoe, Joe hoped that the new Working Group would convene a meeting as soon as possible. He pointed out that following the announcement of the establishment of the new working group, Members had not received further the reports from the Government. As the original working group still existed before the establishment of the new working group, the Government departments were still required to submit reports to WTSDC.

8. The Secretary reported that the newly established working group had scheduled to convene the first meeting on 18 January, and the Secretariat was now contacting the departments concerned to submit the reports.

9. The Chairman added that the election of the Chairman of the working group would be held first.

10. Members noted the paper.

(Hon. TAM Heung-man joined the meeting at 2:40pm.)

V. Progress Report on Matters Arising from the Special Meeting of the Second Term of WTSDC held on 15.11.2005(WTSDC Paper 2/2006)


VI. International Festival of Inclusive Arts 2006(WTSDC Paper 3/2006)

12. Mrs. MA LO To-wan, Mary thanked WTSDC for supporting the “International Day of People with a Disability” and the rehabilitation policy of the Government all these years and introduced the background of International Festival of Inclusive Arts 2006. She then thanked WTSDC for supporting the “International Day of People with a Disability” and the

olo/Dc[M14]_2 5

rehabilitation policy of the Government. She said that HWFB supported the employment of disabled persons by the large and small enterprises. If employers were interested in employing people with disabilities, they could contact HWFB at any time. HWFB also encouraged disabled persons to set up self-help organisations for mutual help. She hoped that if such kind of organisations were set up in the district, Members were encouraged to give them support and care, and the public should be encouraged to accept disabled persons so that they could integrate with the society and be self-reliant.

13. Mrs. MA LO To-wan, Mary added that “International Festival of Inclusive Arts 2006” would be held on 3 December this year, which was the first large-scale arts and cultural festival ever held by the SAR Government for people with disabilities. As regards the “International Day of People with a Disability” (organised by HKCSS) held in the 18 districts each year would be incorporated as one of the programmes in the Festival, she hoped that each District Council (DC) could continue to render support. She then invited the representatives of HKCSS and ADAHK to explain the details of “International Day of People with a Disability” and “International Festival of Inclusive Arts 2006”.

14. Mr. Philip YUEN said that Wong Tai Sin had been very active in supporting rehabilitation activities and its achievement had been remarkable over the past ten odd years. Wong Tai Sin International Day of People with a Disability promoted the communication and cohesion of people with or without disabilities for mutual acceptance. “International Festival of Inclusive Arts 2006” took arts as the contact point for people with or without disabilities. As regards the “International Day of People with a Disability”, HWFB would continue to allocate $33,000 to DC this year for implementing joint rehabilitation activities in the district using the DC fund as well.

(When Mr. Philip YUEN was introducing the paper, Mr. LAU kar-wah joined the meeting at 4:45pm.)

15. Ms. Ada LAM introduced a large-scale programme called “Musical Carnival at the Victoria Harbour”(see the pamphlet on table for details) in the “International Festival of Inclusive Arts 2006”. The initial concept was that each DC would delegate more than 500 people to participate in the event in the hope of breaking the Guinness World Record. The organiser had contacted Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, and people who were interested in playing drums were also invited to participate. There were other programmes in the festival, such as exhibitions, workshops, seminars and so on.

olo/Dc[M14]_2 6

16. The Chairman said that WTSDC had all along supported cohesion between people with or without disabilities. The Community Building and Social Services Committee (CB&SSC) under DC would be the ideal working partner for future cooperation.

17. Dr. LI Sze-bay, BBS, JP, the Chairman of CB&SSC, showed support to the “International Day of People with a Disability” and other rehabilitation activities. The details would be discussed in due course. It was hoped that taking into account the CB&SSC’s participation in the activity, mote DC fund would be allocated to CB&SSC in the next financial year.

18. Miss Victoria TANG said that DC supported the “International Day of People with a Disability” and allocated funds each year for integration activities. “International Festival of Inclusive Arts 2006” was meaningful and she believed DC would hold corresponding activities to mark its support.

19. The Chairman concluded by saying that WTSDC supported “International Festival of Inclusive Arts 2006”and thanked Mrs. MA LO To-wan, Mary, Mr. Philip YUEN, Ms. Ida LAM and Ms. Sunnie LAI for attending the meeting.

20. As the time required for discussing this topic was shorter than expected, and the representatives of the Hospital Authority (HA) had not arrived yet, Members agreed to discuss Paper 5/2006 first, followed by Paper 4/2006.

VIII. Rice Distribution Activities in Yu Lan Festival(WTSDC Paper 5/2006)

21. Miss Victoria TANG introduced the paper.(Mr. CHUI Pak-tai joined the meeting at 3:00 pm.)

22. Ms. TAM Heung-man said that the LegCo Panel on Home Affairs had convened a meeting earlier to discuss this issue. Members respected the tradition of distributing “Blessed Rice” in Yu Lan Festival and they asked the Government to develop policies to improve the distribution of “Blessed Rice” in Yu Lan Festival. This topic would be discussed later in the LegCo.

23. Mr. SO Sik-kin pointed out that some elders queued up for

olo/Dc[M14]_2 7

“Blessed Rice” everywhere and piled up a lot of “Blessed Rice” at home, which was not the intended purpose of the distribution of “Blessed Rice”. As there was a large number of people queuing up for “Blessed Rice”, a large number of policemen were required to maintain the order. The new arrangement could reduce the attraction of “Blessed Rice” on the one hand, and was in line with the spirit of the distribution of “Blessed Rice” on the other hand. He supported the new guidelines.

24. Miss Victoria TANG said that there were over ten thousand people queuing up for “Blessed Rice” in Tsz Wan Shan last year, and fortunately, no major incident occurred. Different departments (the Police, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and so on) had provided useful opinions when the guidelines were conceived. HAD would promote the new guidelines through radio stations and other channels in due course.

25. Ms. CHAN Man-ki, Maggie enquired about how the authority concerned would handle those organisations not complying with the guidelines. She also pointed out that what was of paramount importance was not the quantities of rice bags, but that the Government should actively open up more suitable places for rice distribution instead of formulating several guidelines.

26. Mr. NG Yiu-man enquired whether the guidelines would apply to the following situations:

(a) Rice distribution activities in other festivals (e.g. rice distribution on the Birthday Celebration Day of the Goddess Tin Hau);

(b) Rice distribution for non-festive reasons (e.g. rice distribution for celebrations of the organisations themselves or for providing relief).

27. Mr. SHI Lop-tak suggested requiring all the organisers to submit application proposals to DC in advance. He considered that the better way was to distribute the symbolic small packets of “Blessed Rice”, with coupons put inside the packets. Elders could go to supermarkets to collect the real rice packets with these coupons. If this was not feasible, venues with air-conditioning and seats should be chosen for rice distribution.

28. Mr. HUI Kam-shing said that some elders wanted to get something. He suggested distributing “tickets” first and only those holding “tickets” could obtain rice packets and gifts.

olo/Dc[M14]_2 8

29. Ms. KWOK Sau-ying commented that the guidelines were essential. However, as most of the elders hoped to obtain goods and materials, to avoid their feeling frustrated, the significance of “Blessed Rice” and the changes in the size of the rice bags should be given greater publicity first. Referring to the way DC distributed traditional calendars, she suggested distributing “Blessed Rice” at the same time at different locations in the district. On the other hand, for dispersing the crowd, “tickets” should be distributed first and only those holding the “tickets” could get the rice from the organisers at a designated time.

30. Mr. HO Yin-fai pointed out that the best way was to register for the elders first and then the volunteers could distribute rice to the homes of the elders. This could give full play to the spirit of respecting and caring for the elders.

31. Miss Victoria TANG responded by saying that according to the tradition of Yu Lan Festival, rice packets had been blessed. Rice distribution aimed at giving alms, not providing relief. In relation to the comments of Members, she had the following response to make:

(a) The Government would not loan venues to organisations for rice distribution the following year if they failed to comply with the guidelines.

(b) The departments concerned appreciated the importance of the new arrangement and they would promote this through different channels. It was believed that the reduction in the weight of rice bags would greatly lower its attraction to the public.

(c) It seemed that putting coupons in rice bags was not in line with the spirit of Yu Lan Festival as it seemed to be distributing extra gifts in the venues. However, if the Yu Lan organisers could distribute rice bags through elderly centres, consideration could be given to it.

(Mr. WONG Kwok-tung joined the meeting at 3:25pm.)

(d) There were eight Yu Lan organisers holding rice distribution activities in Wong Tai Sin. The number of rice bags distributed ranged from 2000 to 13000, which exerted great pressure on the Police. The distribution of various kinds of gifts, cash and “Lai See” would also greatly increase the

olo/Dc[M14]_2 9

attraction of the activities to the elders. The Government had discussed with the Yu Lan organisers the distribution of “tickets”, and they commented that distributing “tickets” on the same day when rice was distributed was acceptable, and that it was not in line with to the tradition of Yu Lan Festival if the “tickets” were not distributed on the same day as the rice bags.

(e) The new guidelines only applied to rice distribution in Yu Lan Festival. As this activity involved distributing blessed rice packets in the traditional spirit of giving alms, which had to be carried out outdoors. Other rice distribution activities, such as those carried out indoors by the voluntary agencies, were not subject to the regulation of this guideline. This would not lead to crowd control problem. The Government also hoped that civil societies could take into account the safety of elders when organising rice distribution activities.

32. Mr. FUNG Kwong-chung, JP was glad to see the Government respected the folk tradition. He further said that it was necessary to formulate the new guidelines. He asked how the Government could ensure the Yu Lan organisers complied with the new guidelines.

33. Mr. TO Kwan-hang, Andrew said that balance should be struck between the order of the crowd and folk tradition. Hong Kong was an affluent society and the scene of people queuing up for rice packets was disturbing. He disagreed with the saying of the Government that rice distribution in Yu Lan Festival was related to alms giving. He said that if the organisers distributed blessed amulets instead of blessed rice, there would be fewer people queuing up. The amount of goods distributed had direct impact on the number of people queuing up. There was no difference made between 1 kg of rice bags and 5 kg of rice bags. The existing guidelines were fine but might not be able to solve the problem.

34. In short, a satisfactory registration system, allocation system, dispersal system and distribution system were required for the activity, and application had to be made, just like the ordinary gathering.

35. Mr. WONG Yat-yuk considered that the reduction in the weight of rice bags could minimise crowd gathering. He suggested listing the new guidelines in the promotional banners such that the new arrangement for rice distribution could be transparent. In the long term, the Government should discuss with the relevant organisations the method in “tickets” distribution.

olo/Dc[M14]_2 10

(Mr. WU Chi-wai left the meeting at 3:35pm.)

36. Mr. LEE Tat-yan said that he had seen elders hoarding “Blessed Rice” at home, and so he suggested stepping up the publicity of the message that “Blessed Rice” was not meant to provide relief through radio stations and other channels. He pointed out that there was a growing trend that people queuing up for “Blessed Rice” was younger. Apart from the elders, the middle-aged people were also seen queuing up for “Blessed Rice”. He showed support to the new guidelines and hoped that the Government could seek other ways to improve rice distribution apart from setting down guidelines.

37. Mr. KAN Chi-ho opined that the seven guidelines set down by Home Affairs Department (HAD) should be put into practice first before the effectiveness of the new arrangement could be judged. Although Members had raised different views, it seemed that they were not as specific and clear as the seven guidelines. He pointed out that it was essential for the organisers to put into practice the seven guidelines. If no volunteers, no shelters, no chairs and no first-aid support were provided, it would not be desirable even if 1 kg of rice bags were distributed. It was not feasible to distribute “tickets” as people queuing up at the venues would not leave. As a result, the crowd could not be dispersed even if “tickets” were distributed.

38. Mr. WONG Kwok-tung strongly supported the seven guidelines and suggested that organisers should provide drinking water to people queuing for the rice. He also suggested that organisers should count the number of people queuing up as early as possible so that they could make an early announcement that quotas were used up and stopped people queuing up.

39. The Chairman said that the distribution of “ Blessed Rice” was carried out at football pitches and the organisers should let people enter the venues first before commencing the distribution. Based on his experience, the distribution of “tickets” would only lead to repeated collection of “tickets”, and the re-queuing for “tickets” could not be eliminated.

40. Miss Victoria TANG responded by saying that the Yu Lan organisers were charitable ones and they were willing to abide by the guidelines after HAD had discussed with them through District Office, so the departments concerned were confident that the organisers would keep their promises. If they failed to observe the guidelines, LCSD and other departments would refuse to provide venues to them for holding rice

olo/Dc[M14]_2 11

distribution activities in the future. The departments concerned hoped that there would be a trial run for the guidelines first. If chaotic situation still occurred, the Police would intervene and control the crowd. The departments concerned were confident that no chaos would occur.

41. Relating to the query made by Mr. TO Kwan-hang, Andrew about the difference made between 1 kg and 5 kg of rice bags, Miss TANG added that taking Wong Tai Sin as an example, in 1998/99, there were 700 to 800 people queuing up when the Chiu Kiu Association distributed 1 kg of rice bags in Tsz Wan Shan, but it had soared to 3000 in 2005 since 5 kg of rice bags were distributed in 2001. The departments concerned also agreed that different sizes of rice bags had different degrees of attraction. Rice distribution had a long history, which bore the symbolic meaning of giving alms. It was not meant for providing relief. As such, the departments concerned would continue to discuss with SWD the ways to render assistance to the needy persons, but not through rice distribution in Yu Lan.

42. The Government departments spent a lot of time each year to discuss with the organisers the problem of crowd dispersal, registration and rice distribution, and had convened many meetings. The organisers had their established arrangement. Although no security guards were employed, volunteers would be deployed to render assistance. Some organisers distributed a lot of things, which attracted many elders. Therefore, the departments concerned formulated guidelines against this problem. The departments concerned hoped that the event could proceed smoothly and so they would promote the new guidelines through different channels and convene meetings with the Yu Lan organisers to maintain close contact. The Police was confident that upon the implementation of the new guidelines, the number of people queuing up would be reduced and the law and order would be improved as well.

43. The Chairman added that taking the central football pitch in Tsz Wan Shan as an example, the people queuing up for “Blessed Rice” was approximately 2000 when 1 kg of rice bags were distributed five years ago. The number of people soared to 13000 when 5 kg of rice was distributed. Elders over 70 years old were given “Lai See” of $100, and elders over 65 years old were given two bags of “Blessed Rice”. Therefore, people from different districts were attracted to come to collect the rice. Some of them accumulated a lot of “Blessed Rice” at home and then threw them away, which was a waste of resources. Yu Lan organisers remarked that they were not providing relief and the significance of rice distribution was peace giving. Therefore, it was believed that distribution of 1 kg of rice would diminish the attraction.

olo/Dc[M14]_2 12

(Hon. TAM Heung-man left the meeting at 3:50pm.)

44. Mr. SO Sik-kin added that based on his personal experience, the rice bags were much smaller in size when compared with those distributed thirty years ago by Yu Lan organisers. The size of rice bags would directly affect the attraction of the activities. The large crowd of people queuing up for rice bags spoilt the cosmopolitan image of Hong Kong.

45. The Chairman thanked Miss Victoria TANG for explaining the new arrangement of rice distribution and hoped that Members could help promoting it in the district. Members noted the paper.

VII. The Action Plan of the Hospital Authority in 2005/2006(WTSDC Paper 4/2006)

46. The Chairman welcomed and introduced the representatives of HA as follows:

Dr. Lawrence C.H. TANG Hospital Chief Executive, TWGHs Wong Tai Sin Hospital

Dr. AU Yiu-kai Deputy Hospital Chief Executive, Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital

47. Dr. Lawrence C.H. TANG introduced the action plan of HA in 2005/2006 and TWHGs Wong Tai Sin Hospital; Dr. AU Yiu-kai introduced the action plan of Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital in 2005/2006.

(When Dr. Lawrence C.H.TANG was introducing the paper, Ms. CHAN Man-ki, Maggie left the meeting at 3:55pm. When Dr. AU yiu-kai was introducing the paper, Mr. LAI Wing-ho, Joe and Mr. SHI Lop-tak left the meeting at 4:00pm.)

48. Mr. WONG Kwok-tung said that as far as the medical services in Hong Kong was concerned, the private medical services were expensive. Even the middle-class people could not afford it. In terms of public medical services, not only the disadvantaged, the recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) and the low-income group, but also the middle-class people had a demand for them. Although HA could not provide medical benefits for all people due to resources

olo/Dc[M14]_2 13

constraints, they could consider asking patients to contribute part of the medical expenses (for example 50%), like legal aid.

49. Ms. LEE Ming-pui, Mavis thanked the two doctors for presenting the annual action plans. She said that Wong Tai Sin Hospital and Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital were good partners in the promotion of health education in the district. The two hospitals were recognized for providing quality services for residents in the district. In relation to the consultation document, she raised the following questions

(a) How much resources had been allocated to patients outside the scope of the four priority services, e.g. psychiatric patients, cancer patients and chronically ill patients? What was the proportion when compared with the priority services?

(b) How could HA handle fiscal deficit, staff morale and the loss of experienced medical staff?

(c) In the face of the threat of avian influenza, the control of infection was extremely important. Was the space between the hospital beds kept in line with the standard?

(d) Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital was a training hospital for nurses, but the student nurses just went to hospitals to learn and were not responsible for working in hospitals. Some primary healthcare work was taken up by healthcare assistants who had only gone through four weeks’ training, would the healthcare quality be affected? In terms of staff, what was the respective proportion of registered nurses and healthcare assistants?

50. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai expressed his thanks to the two doctors for coming to WTSDC to introduce the work of the two hospitals. He said that the community had learnt a lesson and gained valuable experience from SARS and the public could raise our awareness in diseases prevention. HA should consolidate their experience relating to SARS to develop measures in tackling other diseases for better control of epidemic diseases in the future.

51. Ms. KWOK Sau-ying raised the following three questions:

(a) Kwong Wah Hospital provided excellent Chinese Medical

olo/Dc[M14]_2 14

(CM) services. Many elders went there for consultation. If CM services in Wong Tai Sin Hospital could be strengthened, the elders in this district could benefit from it. Would HA expand the CM service in Wong Tai Sin Hospital in the future?

(b) How was the outreach services of Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital? Would this kind of service be strengthened?

(c) Would “Strengthening the Manpower” as stated in the action plan include increasing the manpower of volunteers? Some patients became volunteers in hospitals after recovery, and she hoped that volunteer teams be formed in the two hospitals to provide services for patients.

52. Mr. FUNG Kwong-chung, JP gave thanks to the two doctors for attending the DC meeting and especially thanked Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital for actively participating in the activities of “Wong Tai Sin Healthy City”. He had the following questions and points to make:

(a) In face of reduction in resources and the increase in demand for services, how could HA tackle the problem?

(b) What strategies had HA adopted in handling the medical burden arising from the ageing population?

(c) There was recently a suicidal case of a doctor. What measures would HA employ to maintain staff morale?

(d) He was concerned about the quality of healthcare assistants. He had raised the same question in other meetings but only received a simple answer from the Bureau that they were monitoring their work.

(e) Estates Health Promotion Scheme Phase I had been successfully carried out in Tsz Ching Estate last year and received enthusiastic responses. He hoped that the scheme could continue.

53. Mr. CHAN Lee-shing gave thanks to the two doctors for coming to WTSDC to introduce the action plans of the two hospitals and he raised the following questions:

olo/Dc[M14]_2 15

(a) What was the latest development in the queuing time for out-patient services? Would appointment service be implemented in Wong Tai Sin?

(b) The public usually had to wait for a few years before receiving specialist treatment and some even had to wait for three to four years. There were recent reports about the loss of specialist doctors. Did HA propose any strategies to keep the experienced specialists to work in the public hospitals?

54. Dr. AU Yiu-kai made the following responses:

(a) HA paid great attention to the seriously ill and chronically-ill patients. Cancer and psychiatric illness were within the scope of priority services.

(b) HA was also very concerned with medical financing and staff morale and these are the matters receiving the attention of HA in 2006/2007.

(Mr. CHAN On-tai joined the meeting at 4:15pm.)

(c) Before the outbreak of SARS, Wong Tai Sin Hospital had more than 1000 beds. During SARS, as Wong Tai Sin Hospital had to receive SARS patients on recovery, the infection control facilities in the hospital thus had been strengthened. At present, Wong Tai Sin Hospital had only 551 patients and the number of patients received by the hospital had been reduced by half. Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital had 231 patients at present. A negative pressure ward was set up in the hospital to protect patients and healthcare officers. There were two beds in the ward for the suspected infected patients. Once they were confirmed to have been infected, they would be sent to Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment.

(d) As regards the healthcare quality, as there was a shortage in the manpower of nurses, HA had reviewed the healthcare work and assigned the simpler work to the healthcare assistants with four weeks of training. They worked under the supervision of experienced nurses, while complicated work would still be taken up by the professional nurses.

olo/Dc[M14]_2 16

(e) Apart from the medical personnel, Hong Kong society had learnt from the outbreak of SARS, and the medical and healthcare sector had published many international papers relating to it. The Government had set up the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) for the control of SARS and infection. HA had also set up specialised departments to align with CHP to develop policies against SARS in 2003 and avian influenza for the time being. HA kept a stock of supplies sufficient for three months based on the demand for supplies at the height of SARS outbreak.

(f) Outreach services included community nurses and elderly outreach teams of Wong Tai Sin Hospital, and the latter was also the elderly outreach team of Kwong Wah Hospital. There were referral services for patients of these two hospitals. Once the situation of patients had been stabilized, they would be referred back to out-patient clinics for follow up treatment.

(g) HA issued the “Consultation Paper on the Future Service Delivery Model for Our Health Care System” in July and August last year in relation to the future development of medical services and the affordability of the public, and HA would also issue consultation paper in due course to seek the views of the public on the healthcare financing option.

(h) When compared with other general out-patient (GOP) clinics in the territory, the queuing time for GOP clinics of Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital was shorter, but the hospital continue to strive for improvement. In relation to the queuing time for GOP services, HA put forward the following five proposals:

(i) Standardizing the opening hours of the GOP clinics in the district at 7:30pm. The opening hour of Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital was 6:00 am; there were 40 seats reserved for the people on wheelchairs.

(ii) HA had suggested posting up notices to show whether there were remaining quotas in other clinics for patients. As the inter-clinical notification system had not been set up, only notices showing the consultation situation of the district clinics four weeks ago were shown, but the measures did not seem to be of much use to the patients.

(iii) In the past, Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital had 35% of

olo/Dc[M14]_2 17

reserved quotas exclusively for the use of the elderly and the chronically-ill patients. In December, 1995, the reserved quotas for the chronically-ill patients had risen to 47.5%. The hospital would make adjustment taking into consideration of the situation.

(iv) It was found that by providing medication to be used over longer period, the number of people seeking consultation dropped. In the past, hospitals would only provide medication for use of 2 to 4 weeks; nowadays, they would provide medication for over 8 to 12 weeks.

(v) HA was carrying out a trial scheme on telephone/internet booking in Hong Kong East. The model would not be applied to Wong Tai Sin at this moment.

55. The Chairman asked Dr. AU Yiu-kai to give supplementary explanation for the Estate Health Promotion Scheme.

56. Dr. AU Yiu-kai said that the plan was taken up by a senior family doctor and was jointly held with the Organising Committee of Healthy City. HA had set up a network of the family doctors in each district. The participating organization included GOP clinics, private doctors and district voluntary organizations.

57. The Chairman commented that the public showed positive responses to the Scheme, and so he further asked when the Scheme would be extended to other estates after Tsz Wan Shan. Dr AU Yiu-kai said he would reflect this view to the authority concerned.

58. Dr. Lawrence C.H TANG replied as follows:

(a) The specialised departments of HA and TWGHs were studying a specially formulated medicine in the hope that this could be useful to patients and staff in case there came the outbreak of avian influenza.

(b) The space between hospital beds had been improved after SARS. The preventive equipments in the hospital were adequate for ten week’s use. After SARS, the public awareness towards hygiene and diseases prevention had been enhanced. This was the lesson the society had learnt form SARS.

olo/Dc[M14]_2 18

(c) Being a front-line staff, he had mixed feelings towards the staff morale. The recent suicidal case of a doctor was an individual case. HA was concerned about the staff morale, and would lengthen the training period from 7 years to 9 years, so that the recruited doctors could finish their training without much worry. Adjustments would also be made to their promotion prospect and salary.

59. The Chairman thanked Dr. Lawrence C.H. TANG and Dr. AU Yiu-kai for attending the meeting.

(There was a 15-minute break at this juncture. Mr. WONG Yat-yuk, Ms. TAM Yuet-ping, Celia and Mr. WONG Chung-sang, Talis left the meeting at 4:45pm.)

IX. WTSDC Delegation to Guangdong(WTSDC Paper 6/2006)

60. The Secretary introduced the paper.

(Mr. CHAN Wai-kwan, Andie left the meeting at 5:05pm.)

61. The Chairman informed the Members that the start date for the delegation would be postponed from early March as stated in the paper to early May. The confirmed date would be announced at the next meeting. He asked if the Members supported organizing a delegation to Guangdong.

62. Mr. SO Sik-kin supported the organization of exchange activities by DC. He suggested that Members considered authorizing the Chairman to take up the external organization work and then report the start date for the delegation at the next meeting. 63. The Chairman remarked that the Vice-Chairman and himself had started to contact the relevant units. As regards the organization structure of the delegation, the Chairman suggested setting up the following posts with reference to the practice of Kwun Tong District Council:

Honorary Consultant Taken up by the staff of the General Kowloon Sub-office, Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government

Honorary Group Leader

Taken up by the District Officer of Wong Tai Sin

olo/Dc[M14]_2 19

Group Leader Taken up by the Chairman of WTS District Council

Deputy Group Leader Taken up by the Deputy Chairman of WTS District Council

Treasurer

Secretary

Upon the formation of Upon the formation of the delegation, District Office would liaise with the DC Members of the delegation to take up the posts.

64. Miss Victoria TANG suggested that DC Members took up the posts of the Treasurer and Secretary and the staff of the District Office (DO) would offer assistance and support.

65. Mr. WONG Kwok-tung asked if all WTSDC Members could join this delegation.

66. The Chairman replied that all WTSDC Members could join this delegation, including the Members who had to obtain Home Visit Permits.

67. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai said that exchange and delegation activities would be useful to DC, which could enhance the understanding between the Mainland and Hong Kong. Hong Kong could also learn from the Guangdong Province. He stressed that no additional conditions should be imposed on the Members without Home Visit Permits.

68. The Chairman replied that no additional conditions would be imposed on them. The delegation was mainly for sightseeing and exchange so as to enhance mutual understanding and no politics would be on the agenda.

69. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai responded that the word “politics” was too vague and it was difficult to define.

70. The Chairman responded by saying that the delegation mainly went sightseeing so as to enhance mutual understanding. Community building, social services and cultural and recreational activities were the topics for exchange.

olo/Dc[M14]_2 20

71. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai remarked that he would behave himself and do what he considered was right. It would be inappropriate for the delegation to set the rule that no politics would be discussed.

72. The Chairman remarked that Members must have mutual understanding in advance to avoid embarrassment.

73. Mr. TO Kwan-hang, Andrew considered that it would be reasonable for Members to express their own views on the suitable occasions. Their right of expression should be respected. On the other hand, the tour itself was in the preliminary planning stage with no clear objective. He suggested agreeing on the objective of the delegation in the meeting.

74. The Chairman remarked that he would report the detailed itinerary arrangement in the next DC meeting.

75. Mr. TO Kwan-hang, Andrew responded by saying that the relevant information should include the units that DC Members would meet and the objective of the delegation. Members should not avoid any topic worthy of discussion.

76. Ms. LEE Ming-pui, Mavis suggested including “learning the community building” as the objective of the delegation.

77. The Chairman said that based on the current information, the Office of the Provincial Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference would be the host organisation, which was a political structure. The delegation could listen to their introduction and make simple enquiry.

78. Mr. NG Yiu-man said that he respected the reception arrangement of the Mainland. As it was still in the conception stage, he suggested including the exchange with the university students in the Mainland.

79. The Chairman agreed to this suggestion and commented that the suggestion could be made to the host organisation for a tour to Zhuhai University.

80. Mr. LEE Tat-yan suggested visiting the University City in Pan Yu.

81. Ms. KWOK Sau-ying suggested arranging for the meeting with the labour unions and the labourers in the Mainland. She also suggested contacting the travel agencies which other DCs had chosen when seeking quotations from the agencies.

olo/Dc[M14]_2 21

82. The Secretary remarked that further reference could be made to the travel agencies which other DCs had chosen. However, she pointed out that the travel agencies stated in the paper were the ones that had provided quotation to Kwun Tong District Council.

83. The Chairman concluded that the paper was endorsed and the Secretariat would consolidate the views given by the Members. He then would further discuss the details of the itinerary with the Mainland units, the structure of the delegation would be the same as mentioned above.

X. Changes in the Membership of the Committees under the Wong Tai Sin District Council(WTSDC Paper 7/2006)

84. The Secretary introduced the paper.

85. Members endorsed the followings:

(a) Hon. TAM Heung-man withdrew from the Working Group on Poverty with effect from 11.1.2006;

(b) Mr. CHAN Wai-kwan, Andie withdrew from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee with effect from 11.1.2006.

XI Progress Reports

(i) Progress Report of the 13 th Meeting of the Community Building and Social Services Committee held on 15.11.2005(WTSDC Paper 8/2006)


(ii) Progress Report of the 13 th Meeting of the Leisure and Cultural Committee held on 22.11.2005(WTSDC Paper 9/2006)


olo/Dc[M14]_2 22

(iii) Progress Report of the 13 th Meeting of the Traffic and Transport Committee held on 29.11.2005 (WTSDC Paper 10/2006)

88. In relation to “Revised Proposal for the Traffic Arrangement of the Comprehensive Development Area at Clear Water Bay Road No 35”(Paragraph 2 of the paper), the submission jointly signed by Mr. CHUI Pak-tai, Mr. CHAN Lee-shing, Mr. LAU Kar-wah and Mr. WONG Kwok-tung was at Annex. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai spoke on behalf of them. The paper was mainly related to the objection to linking up Ping Ting Road as the vehicular access.

89. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai requested that a written objection in the name of DC be sent to the Town Planning Board (TPB) before the deadline (13 January) designated by TPB.

90. In view of the time limit and the fact that most of the Members were not fully conversant with the actual situation and so they could not give informed comments relating to the submissions immediately, the meeting decided that the representatives of the Planning Department, the Transport Department, the developer and its engineering consultant company be invited to carry out an on-site inspection on 12 January 2006. A briefing session would be held at the Conference Room of the Wong Tai Sin District Office prior to the site visit so that Members could express their views.

(During the discussion, Mr. CHAN Yim-kwong, Joe left the meeting at 5:28pm, Mr. CHENG Tak-kin, Michael left the meeting at 5:30pm.)

91. Eight Members indicated they would participate in the site inspection at the meeting. They were:

Mr. WONG Kam-chi, the ChairmanMr. CHAN Lee-shing,Mr. CHOW Ching-lam,Mr. CHUI Pak-tai,Mr. HO Yin-fai,

olo/Dc[M14]_2 23

Mr. LAU Kar-wah,Mr. NG Yiu-man,Mr. WONG Kwok-tung

(Post-meeting note: The Secretary had phoned several Members who were not at the Meeting when this item was discussed on 11 January. It was known that Mr. WU Chi-wai and Mr. LAI Wing-ho, Joe would also attend.)

92. It was decided in the meeting that the Secretariat would ask the Members to express their views on or before 13 January by urgent circulation. Members could express their views irrespective of whether they had participated in the site inspection or not, so that the Secretariat could reflect all views received to TPB on 13 January.

(iv) Progress Report of the 13 th Meeting of the Finance, General and Economic Affairs Committee held on 6.12.2005 (WTSDC Paper 11/2006)


(v) Progress Report of the 13 th Meeting of the Housing Committee held on 13.12.2005 (WTSDC Paper 12/2006)


(vi) Progress Report of the 12 th Meeting of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee held on 1.11.2005(WTSDC Paper 13/2006)


(vii) Progress Report of the 8 th Meeting of the Working Group on the Promotion of Local Community Economy in Wong Tai Sin District

olo/Dc[M14]_2 24

held on 1.11.2005 (WTSDC Paper 14/2006)


(viii) Progress Report of the 5 th Meeting of the Working Group on Water Supply and Drainage Projects in South East Kowloon held on 26.10.2005(WTSDC Paper 15/2006)


98. Mr. HO Yin-fai, the Chairman of the Working Group on Poverty, enquired about the progress report of the working group.

99. The Secretary remarked that no meeting had been held since the working group submitted the progress report at the last DC meeting. As such, no progress report was submitted by the working group to DC meeting for reference.

100. Miss Victoria TANG remarked that if a meeting was held in between, the relevant progress report would be submitted to the next DC meeting for the reference of the Members.

(Post-meeting note: As at 10.1.2006, the most recent meeting that the Working Group on Poverty had held was the 3rd Meeting on 23.9.2005. It was the Activity Working Group that held meetings on 19.10.2005 and 2.12.2005.)

(ix) Progress Report of the Meeting of the Wong Tai Sin District Management Committee held on 30.12.2005 (WTSDC Paper 16/2005)


XII Date of Next Meeting

olo/Dc[M14]_2 25

102. The 15th meeting of WTSDC would be held at 2:30pm on Tuesday on 14.3.2006. Spring Festival celebration would be held that night.

103. There being no other business, the meeting adjourned at 5:50pm.

Wong Tai Sin District Council Secretariat Ref: WTSDC 15/5/5/53 Pt 14 March 2006

Note: Should there be any discrepancies between the Chinese and English versions, the Chinese version shall prevail. This English summary translation is for reference only.

olo/Dc[M14]_2 26

Annex(Minutes of WTSDC Meeting on 10.1.2006)

To: Wong Kam Chi, the Chairman of the Wong Tai Sin District Council

and all Members

10 January 2006

Objection to Using Ping Ting Road as the Vehicular Access of Clear Water Bay Road No 35

In relation to redeveloping Clear Water Bay Road No 35 as a commercial and residential project, I know that Ping Ting Road would be connected to Clear Water Bay Road No 35 as the vehicular access for the carpark that accommodated several hundreds of vehicles. However, under this arrangement, Ngau Chi Wan Street and Jat’s Incline would certainly be made as the access. This would not only aggravate the congestion at this area, but also would cause air, noise and environmental pollution to Choi Wan 1st and 2nd Estates, Choi Fai Estate, Scenic View and the Government Quarters. It is known that the open space next to the Government Quarters at Fung Shing Street would have new development. As the above-mentioned streets would be the only access for the said buildings, the result would be catastrophic once the project has been completed. Therefore, we strongly object to connecting Ping Ting Road to Clear Water Bay Road as the vehicular access.

olo/Dc[M14]_2 27

WTSDC Members

CHUI Pak-

tai,

WONG Kwok-tung

CHAN Lee-shing

LAU Kar-wah

olo/Dc[M14]_2 28

minutes of the special meeting of€¦ · web view87. members noted the paper. (iii) progress...

Documents