Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Donald Tsang said Monday Hong Kong must adopt new strategies to enable quality healthcare to the community in a cost-effective, equitable and sustainable way.
"It has become increasingly clear in the past few years that service delivery models that worked even a decade ago are no longer sustainable," Tsang said at the opening ceremony of the Hospital Authority Convention 2002.
In the next 20 years, there will be almost 1.4 million people aged over 65 in Hong Kong, or about 15 percent of the projected population. Over one third of this group will be aged 75 and over, according to forecast.
"Meeting the health needs of an increasingly aging population, coupled with escalating public expectations, poses great challenges for our healthcare policy-makers and service providers," Tsang said.
This is the 10th anniversary of the annual convention, a forum to exchange ideas and find solutions to meeting the challenges in the healthcare system.
This year's theme is "knowledge, partnership and sustainable healthcare."
Around 2,000 experts and professionals from the Chinese mainland and international healthcare industry were present at the convention, due to end Tuesday.
(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2002)
