Macau Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long said yesterday that the average waiting time for initial consultation in the government’s specialist clinics in the first three quarters of this year was 3.6 weeks, down about 35 percent from the same period in 2019.
Dr Lo made the remarks yesterday when reviewing the bureau’s work this year in a phone-in programme hosted by public broadcaster TDM’s Chinese-language radio station, Ou Mun Tin Toi.
Dr Lo said that through the establishment of an electronic referral monitoring system, the number of specialist outpatient places has increased, and the waiting time for initial consultation has shortened.
Dr Lo said that the average waiting time in the public hospital’s emergency department on normal days is less than 30 minutes for emergency cases and 60 to 90 minutes for non-emergency cases.
Dr Lo noted that during the influenza peak, the number of emergency department consultations was as high as 1,300 per day, while the average waiting time for non-emergency cases remained at less than two hours.
In terms of smart medical applications, Dr Lo said his bureau has set up smart medicine cabinets, automatic dispensing machines and smart wards to enhance the quality of medical services, and introduced new measures to enable residents to browse medical records through “Macao One Account” mobile app, covering hospitals and some non-profit making medical institutions in Macau, in order to enhance convenient access of personal health records.
In addition, Dr Lo underlined that the bureau will adjust the minimum age of the beneficiaries of the government’s denture pilot programme from 70 years to 65 next year.
According to the bureau, the current programme aims to subsidise the fitting of dentures for those aged 70 and above who face financial difficulties, in order to give them more complete dental care and to improve their quality of life, while those that are eligible who are aged 80 and above have already benefited in the early stages of the programme.
The programme was launched in 2019 by the bureau and local non-profit medical institutions. The first stage offered subsidies for those eligible aged 80 or above, the second phase in 2020 lowered the age to 75 or above, while the third phase last year decreased the age to 70 or above. Next year’s fourth phase will further reduce the age requirement to 65 and above.
Macau Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long addresses yesterday’s phone-in programme, Ou Mun Gwong Cheung, hosted by public broadcaster TDM. – Photo courtesy of TDM
