Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The following is issued on behalf of the Office of The Ombudsman:
The Ombudsman, Mr Jack Chan, today (September 26) announced the completion of a full investigation into the Hospital Authority (HA)’s deposit refund arrangements for the assistive device loan service, with 12 recommendations on improvement measures made.
Hospitals under the HA have assistive devices available for loan, free of rental charge, to patients with clinical needs, aiming to facilitate their rehabilitation progress and daily living during the initial post-discharge period. The HA requires borrowers to pay a deposit refundable upon the proper return of the loaned devices.
Mr Chan said, “The Office received a complaint that after returning the wheelchair to the Occupational Therapy Department (OTD) of a hospital under the HA, the complainant brought a written certificate issued by the OTD confirming that the wheelchair had been properly returned to the Shroff Office to request a refund of the deposit. However, the staff insisted that the complainant could not obtain a refund without presenting the deposit receipt. The complainant considered the certificate from the OTD, together with his own identity document, sufficient to prove the return of the wheelchair and his identity as the borrower. He alleged that the hospital concerned was unreasonable in requiring him to present the deposit receipt as a prerequisite for the refund.
“Assistive devices help patients in need manage daily living activities and facilitate their rehabilitation progress. We commend the HA for providing free-of-charge assistive device loan service to support patients and their carers. As the refund of deposits involves financial transactions, we acknowledge that the HA must handle these with caution. Nevertheless, during our full investigation, we were concerned about the inconvenience caused to the public by the HA’s requirement and any room for improvement.
“The Office’s investigation found that hospitals already record the complainant’s name and deposit amount in the computer system at the time of payment. On the day of returning the wheelchair, the Deposit Refund Notice issued by the Allied Health Department certifying that the borrower has returned the device intact, and identity document presented by the complainant were sufficient to confirm the return of the wheelchair and his identity. After confirming the hospital’s records in the computer system, it was actually unnecessary for Shroff staff to require the complainant to present the deposit receipt for verifying such information and status. Hence, in our view, the hospital concerned insisting that the complainant present the deposit receipt for refund collection after returning the assistive device was overly rigid, inflexible and redundant in practice. The HA should modernise and enhance its existing arrangements. This would help avoid the inconvenient situations where members of the public are denied a refund for not bringing a receipt.”
The Office is pleased to note that the HA is in the process of reviewing and enhancing the procedures for the assistive device loan service. The HA agreed that borrowers will no longer be required to present the deposit receipt when applying for a refund. This Office in this full investigation made 12 recommendations for improvement to the HA, and the HA expressed its agreement and full commitment to implementing them.
The main recommendations for improvement made by this Office to the HA include:
• expediting the enhancement of arrangements and workflow for the assistive device loan service at public hospitals to standardise the current practice of allowing the authorisation of a representative to collect deposit refunds, and removing the requirement for borrowers to present the deposit receipt when applying for a refund;
• after completing the enhancements, clearly specifying in the relevant internal guidelines and the booklet for the borrowers the supporting documents the authorised representative of borrowers must present to collect deposit refunds;
• sharing this case with staff responsible for handling applications for borrowing assistive devices and related deposits, and providing staff training to ensure their awareness and understanding of the newly formulated guidelines; and
• formulating measures to ensure that all public hospitals consistently adhere to the new guidelines in handling assistive device loan cases in future.
The full investigation report has been uploaded to the website of the Office of The Ombudsman at www.ombudsman.hk for public information.