'Prevention Better Than Cure' For Health System

Lawmaker Chan Hoi-yan is urging the government to help ease the pressure on the public medical system by doing a better job in primary healthcare and preventative medicine.

Speaking on RTHK’s Letter to Hong Kong, Chan said the health authorities had failed to tackle staff shortages and overcrowding at public hospitals.

She said prevention could prove better than cure especially as the population gets older: "Elderly people frequently have greater demands for health services and the ageing population is going to ad to the burden of already ailing medical services.

"The local medical system has always been biased towards treatment of disease and in-patient care. Preventive medicine and primary care have hitherto played a rather minor role.

"Popular implementation of preventative medicine and primary care can improve the health of the general population and reduce disease burden, thereby reducing the need for costly medical intervention for the treatment of diseases."