A legislator has called on the government to set up a men’s health-care service that combines physical and psychological treatment to help middle-aged men with sexual health problems.
Civic Party lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki, a urology doctor, made the call on Father’s Day.
Many men aged 30 or above are faced with diseases of the reproductive system, including erectile dysfunction and benign prostatic hyperplasia, Kwok said.
He noted that there used to be a male health department in Kwong Wah Hospital, a public hospital in Yau Ma Tei, during the 1990s, but the services were withdrawn due to a lack of resources.
Health-care centers for men are run by the nonprofit Family Planning Association of Hong Kong in Tsuen Wan, Wan Chai and Ma Tau Chung.
“The male health services provided by the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong are not cheap. A tablet to treat erectile dysfunction could cost up to HK$100. Grassroots citizens may not be able to afford it,” Kwok said.
While Kwok urged the Hospital Authority to set up male health centers, he also advised the government to integrate counselling services into the men’s health-care services.
“Most cases of sexual dysfunction in men are caused by psychological problems, such as stress from work and family, and can be treated with sex therapy,” he said.
Kwok said health clinics with sex therapy services are very common in Europe and America.
“When men go to see urology doctors in Hong Kong, they can only get assistance on their physical health, but not on their sexual or marriage problems.”
Kwok suggested the government set up combined clinics, offering, for example, one-stop urology diagnostic services and sex therapies for men.
Meanwhile, people celebrated the hottest Father’s Day yesterday in 55 years inside air-conditioned malls shopping, boosting retail store sales.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued the very hot weather warning at around 7am. It recorded a temperature of 34.2 degrees Celsius at around 2pm, making yesterday the hottest Father’s Day since 1961.
A salesman at electrical goods chainstore Fortress in Tai Koo Shing said the sales volume has increased by 30 percent this year, with most families purchasing mobile phones in the mid- price-range, HK$2,000 to HK$3,000.
“Although the increase is pretty similar to that of last year, it is still better than that on Mother’s Day,” he added.
Catering businesses seemed to be benefiting from the day as well.
House of Canton, a traditional Chinese restaurant at Cityplaza, said the first round of their tables at 6.30pm had been fully booked, with only a few tables left for the second and third rounds.