6 June 1998

Splitting Health and Welfare Bureau
for better food and hygiene monitoring

(keywords:- avian flu, food hygiene, centralisation)

          As Hong Kong people complete their first anniversary as masters of their own house, they will be looking for changes, not for the sake of change, but rather changes for the better. One such suggestion of late which will no doubt win the hearts of many is to see the monitoring and control of food and environmental hygiene put under one roof. The public has the right to expect that the food we eat are properly monitored for sanitation purpose from "farm" to "table", be it vegetable, meat, fish or fowl.

          Let us look at the existing bureaucracy, if not fallacy. A couple of years ago when Hong Kong was on a verge of cholera outbreak, it dawned on Government that some food factories and restaurants were in a despicable filthy state. Some food factories used well water to prepare their products. Regrettably, the wells were hardly arm's length from latrines. It transpired that whilst the municipal councils were the licensing authorities of these food factories and unhygienic restaurants, monitoring was much to be desired. Worse, once a licence was issued, there was hardly anything these two councils could do.

          Ironically, the hands of the Department of Health, presumably the guardian of public health, were tied until actual diseases were discovered. When questioned on the validity of sitting wells and which relevant government departments were involved, the public was put on a bureaucracy steeple chase. All parties involved were obviously passing the buck.

          The pinnacle of fallacy surfaced at the avian flu saga. Yes many bureaux, departments and councils were apparently involved if not concerned -- the Economic Services Bureau and its subordinate Agricultural and Fisheries Department was involved in the importation of fowls; the municipal councils and its departments involved in the sanitation and hygiene state of farms and markets; the Health and Welfare Bureau and the Department of Health involved in control of disease itself. Simply put, no department nor bureau holds the "can".

          True enough, whilst the Department of Health claimed all chickens were fit for human consumption, the Economic Services Bureau proclaimed within days that all chickens must be massacred; the two municipal departments took on the job as executioners, regrettably, half-heartedly in full public view; and the Environmental Protection Department grumbled that they had inadequate facilities to dump the "half dead" carcasses. The final crunch came when the Economic Services Bureau raised its hands in surrender, taken by surprise when faced with the need to compensate the fowl farmers, something that never appeared to have crossed Government's mind. All in all, a tragedy in comic disguise!

          The suggestion of the recent consultation document on a revamp of the two municipal councils to put food safety and environmental hygiene under the ambit of one central organisation must therefore be a step in the right direction.

          By logical deduction, the Health and Welfare Bureau (HWB) will be the appropriate body to take ownership of this central unit. Yet with this further remit and together with the already very heavy responsibility, will the "potato" be too hot for this Bureau to handle?

          The recent calls for policies to control pharmaceutical products and medical equipments; the renewed call for the establishment of a public health policy; the urgent call for a review of dental policy and the ad nausea plea for Government to review health funding policy in face of unsustainable public health care budget; yet a complete lack of positive response, obviously indicate a work load strain, if not also a lack of professional expertise, in the HWB.

          It may well be timely for Government to split this body into two -- a Welfare Bureau and a Health Bureau possibly with professional knowhow support. After all, health and welfare are two essential livelihood sectors that any responsible government must address and improvise!

(Hongkong Standard)