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Five hundred residential care places and 300 subsidised day care places for the elderly will be provided in the next two years as a solution to the ageing Hong Kong society, announced Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po during today's budget speech. "It is obviously not enough. The number of waiting participants is much more than the given places, but it is better than none," said Hung Kam In, district council member for Po Tat in Kwun Tong. There are currently 40,630 people on the waiting list for residential places in elderly care centres. Those wanting government subsidised spots wait 39 months on average, while those on the list for private homes wait 10 months, according to the Social Welfare Department. According to the Hong Kong Population Projections, the elderly population is estimated to rise to 19 percent of the population in 2021, meaning there would be more than 1.4 million elderly people. The limitations of medical care are also becoming increasingly serious as the population ages. Many elderly people rely on public health care, leading to long waiting times for treatment in public hospitals. There are 50,731 patients waiting for cataract surgery in public hospitals, according to the Hospital Authority, with an average waiting time for cataract surgery of 19 months. The longest expected waiting time is two years and four months in the New Territory West District. Cataracts are a common geriatric disease, mostly diagnosed in patients above the age of 60. The HA expects that the demand for surgery will continue to grow with an estimated 21,000 new cases per year. Mr. Chan said during the press conference that "in terms of medical training, I expect more trainees doctors to work at public hospitals." Mr. Hung said that the government should loosen up the rules on license conversion …

Frontline medical staff in public hospitals are set to benefit from a myriad of healthcare measures, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his budget speech today. Around $80 billion will be allocated to the public healthcare system, as Hong Kong public hospitals suffer from labour shortages and overworked medical staff are increasingly making mistakes. The Hospitality Authority will receive $700 million to alleviate the heavy workload of frontline healthcare workers, boost morale and retain talent. Public hospitals in Hong Kong suffered from severe labour shortage crisis during this winter's flu season. "Our healthcare and supporting teams in the public sector have been safeguarding the health of the community with professionalism and passion," said Mr. Chan, "Yet, surges in demand coupled with manpower and facility constraints have added to their workload. They are no doubt hard-pressed." He proposed to increase the salary and hourly rate of on-call medical staff. He will also increase the number of posts for senior nurses and the salary for ward-supporting staff. "The Hospital Authority will hire all medical graduates in the coming five years," Mr. Chan said. Doctors have overly busy schedules and huge stress because the doctor-patient ratio is disproportionate and there has been an increase in the number of medical-related legal disputes, said a medical student doing clinical work who did not want to reveal his full name. "No one really cares whether we are overworking or not when we are scolded for making  mistakes," he said, "To alleviate the problem, there should be more budget to build more hospitals for more beds, as well as to hire more people including doctors, nurses and health-associated workers." "With the great pressure they have, they are more likely to make mistakes and therefore get complaints from patients, which makes them more unwilling to be the …

The government will ensure at least two social workers in all secondary schools across Hong Kong starting this year, announced Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po in the budget speech today. This comes after an alarming increase in student suicide rates and teenage mental illness. This "two school social workers for each school" policy will involve an annual recurring expenditure of $310 million and will be implemented in more than 460 secondary schools.   Mr. Chan said in the budget speech that the objective of this policy is "to enhance teenagers' mental health and stress resilience". Currently, middle schools in Hong Kong are administering the "one school social worker for each school" policy, which was introduced to all secondary schools in 2000. But statistics and surveys show that the mental health assistance currently offered to secondary school students is far from adequate. Based on a statement from the Food and Health Bureau, more and more teenagers and even pre-teens have been diagnosed with mental illness in recent years. The number of cases has risen from 18,900 in 2012 to 28,800 in 2016 — an increase of more than 50% in five years. The juvenile suicide rate in Hong Kong also rose rapidly. HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention from Hong Kong University estimated that the suicide rate has increased by 76.1% from 2012 to 2016, while the suicide cases of full-time students have risen by 52.6%. "Allocating more social workers to schools definitely can help to provide early detection and intervention to students who might be in distress or have high risks of mental health issues," said Frances Law Yik-wa, associate professor at Hong Kong University and Project Director of CSRP, who responded positively towards the government's new policy. However, while the government's efforts are appreciated, local social worker Emy …