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Letters

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words.
Hong Kong faces profound structural challenges related to the rising prevalence of chronic diseases among the ageing population, and the associated problems of loneliness and the burden on caregivers. As the government prepares its inaugural five-year plan, this moment offers a vital opportunity to reform the city’s health and medical system to tackle the interlocking challenges.
Since 2011, Health In Action has witnessed that grass-roots families struggle not only with illness but also with housing, financial strain, access to healthy food, caregiving, social isolation and health literacy. Social determinants of health are estimated to account for a substantial proportion of health outcomes, often more than half, depending on the model and population studied.
Residents simply don’t know where to access or how to navigate existing resources because public services operate in silos. The lack of coordination pushes them back into the Hospital Authority system, deepening avoidable demand and long-term fiscal pressure.
Future primary healthcare must evolve from siloed operations into a cross-disciplinary system capable of addressing the full spectrum of community needs. We submitted a paper to the Hong Kong government, urging it to leverage the five-year plan to introduce social prescribing as a cornerstone policy tool to bridge medical and social welfare and make the best use of social capital – community stakeholders.
Social prescribing goes beyond simply referring citizens to community activities. The client journey begins with holistic needs being identified by professionals, followed by trained link workers setting goals, identifying resources and providing continuous connection before progress is reviewed.
Social prescribing can take place in the established system composed of District Health Centres, community pharmacies and community living rooms. Alternatively, when a patient is discharged from hospital, a joint medical and social assessment could be used to create a care plan for a link worker to follow while coordinating the relevant services and health empowerment listed in the prescription.
Implementation does not require a new or unwieldy bureaucracy. Instead, we can build upon existing foundations through pilot programmes. Health In Action and other NGOs have piloted social prescribing in the local community. The Hong Kong government can use these efforts as a reference.
The five-year plan offers a forward-looking framework for enhancing the use of existing resources in the community. By ensuring vulnerable groups receive timely and coordinated support through a new workforce of link workers, Hong Kong can evolve towards a sustainable health future that cultivates well-being. Social prescribing should be recognised not as an adjunct, but as a core strategy for a more equitable, coordinated and human-centred healthcare system.
Dr Fan Ning, founder and executive director, and Ruby Leung, senior community dietitian, Health In Action
Hong Kong must change, survive, excel
I refer to the letter, “Reinventing Hong Kong does not require amnesia” (August 21).
Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Before the handover, Hong Kong was a British colony; now, it is a city in China. Isn’t it logical to change?
Change can revitalise a city as it keeps abreast of inexorable technological progress. We must change, lest we lag behind.
Our neighbour Shenzhen, thanks to its unceasing efforts to change, has transformed from an obscure city into one of China’s top cities. Shenzhen’s economy is now as robust as Hong Kong’s, if not more so. It serves as a classic example of how change can bring prosperity. In this rapidly changing era, we must change, survive and excel.
Yu Mei-mei, Yuen Long
A journey of strength and love
The story of Liu Peijin’s love and support for his disabled wife is beautiful, the very best of humanity (“‘Die on the road, not in hospital’: Chinese man takes paralysed wife on epic road trip”, August 18). We are reminded that in the face of adversity the greatest strength we have is the love we share with the person we choose to spend our lives with, be that interracial, LGBTQ or mixed-faith. Love is the foundation of happiness, achievement, mental health stability and friendship. As Liu has shown, love is the journey of our lives.
Mark Peaker, The Peak


Hong Kong leader vows accountability over faulty lifts at Queen Mary Hospital

Data from Greater Bay Area’s 88 million residents to help improve healthcare policy: GSK

Supplier to end classroom lunch portioning at Sha Tin school after 39 fall ill

Hong Kong teen battling rare disease creates AI avatar to ensure his story lives on

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Fix Hong Kong’s healthcare silos with link workers

Sham Shui Po District Health Centre in 2022. Photo: Jelly Tse


Full fee waivers rise 20-fold to 280,000 after healthcare reform, minister says

The health minister says full fee waivers have risen 20-fold, from 14,000 to 280,000, since Hong Kong’s public healthcare fee reform began. Edmond So

Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau says Hong Kong is moving towards a greater user-pays healthcare model while maintaining protection for those facing financial hardship. Photo: May Tse

How can retirees beat rising healthcare costs in Hong Kong?

illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Philip Kong was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate earlier this year and was set to pay HK$210,000 for surgery at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Pamphlets advertising the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme. Photo: Nora Tam

Clement Chan has said that a decade ago, many Hongkongers would have been wary of mainland medical services due to media coverage of blunders. Photo: Sun Yeung

Opinion

Readers discuss bridging medical and social welfare, why Hong Kong must change, and an epic road trip


Readers discuss bridging medical and social welfare, why Hong Kong must change, and an epic road trip.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Readers discuss bridging medical and social welfare, why Hong Kong must change, and an epic road trip

Readers discuss bridging medical and social welfare, why Hong Kong must change, and an epic road trip