December Focus

[摘要] IT is increasingly hard to work out what passes for thinking in the Department of Health. Last month it announced the intention of opening walk-in centres (WICs) in mainline and underground train stations. Implicitly acknowledging that WICs are limited in what they can do when staffed by nurses alone, it also announced that doctors would be available at certain times, thereby ensuring that dealing with existing shortages of primary care doctors in our major cities will be accorded lower priority than staffing glitzy WICs. Whatever else is known, the current research is clear that WICs are not addressing the problem of social inequality and access. Encouraging people to squeeze in a consultation between getting off a train and reaching the office trivialises any notion of health. Besides, what is the Department thinking of when it plans a major investment to address the health needs of people who have already decided they are well enough to go to work?

[学科分类] 卫生学