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According to aFood and Health Bureaupaper submitted to lawmakers yesterday,the government will provide financial resources, including operational costs, for the scheme to be implemented. But the regulatory body will have to operate on a self-financing basis.
In return, accredited professionals can state in their titles that they are approved by the Department of Health, subject to renewal every three years.
The scheme will initially cover 15 types of professionals: speech therapists, educational psychologists, audiologists, audiology technicians, chiropodists, clinical psychologists, dental surgery assistants, dental technicians, dental therapists, dietitians, dispensers, mould laboratory technicians, orthoptists, prosthetists and scientific officers.
The department had commissioned Chinese University’s public health and primary care school in 2014 to conduct a study on the feasibility of adopting the scheme. The university will conduct a pilot scheme by the end of this year.
Hong Kong Dietitians Associationchairwoman Sylvia Lam See-way said it would be a good step to help people avoid unqualified practitioners, but the industry would need plenty of support from the government.
(SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST)
