The government plans to offer more than 24,000 cervical and breast cancer screening quotas each year through the new Women Wellness Satellites (WWS), said Commissioner for Primary Healthcare Pang Fei-chau.
The first WWS center, located in Wan Chai, is scheduled to open next Thursday, June 12. Pang highlighted that this program will serve 11,000 more women aged 64 and below than the previous Women’s Health Centres run by the Department of Health, which have now been integrated into the district health network.
Women’s health nurse clinics across 18 districts will provide basic health services for eligible women and refer them to the WWS when needed.
The WWS will use a co-payment system, where the government offers partial subsidies. Patients will pay an HK$80 clinic fee and an HK$150 doctor consultation fee per visit. For women who use the service two to three times a year, the total cost will be slightly higher than the previous annual fee of HK$300 at the Women’s Health Centres.
Speaking on television, Pang explained that this payment model allows the government to introduce enhanced services starting in the third quarter of the year. He also noted that fees will gradually align with those charged by General Outpatient Clinics.
Two more WWS centers, in Lam Tin and Tuen Mun, are expected to open in September.
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