SSM evaluates new Taipa health center as lawmaker raises access concerns

The Health Bureau (SSM) said it will continue assessing Taipa’s population growth and medical needs and optimize resources in the district in response to lawmaker Leong Hong Sai’s concerns about insufficient healthcare facilities and poor walking access in Taipa.

In a written reply, the bureau said Macau currently has nine health centers, three health stations, and a health station at Macau New Neighborhood in Hengqin, all providing accessible community medical services. The Taipa and Lago health centers already cover most of Taipa Island, it said, but the bureau will continue to evaluate the district’s population growth and medical demand.

In his inquiry, lawmaker Leong noted that Taipa’s population exceeds 100,000, making it one of Macau’s most densely populated districts, yet it has only two health centers. Residents in the Nova Taipa Garden Building, Nam San Building, and old town areas have reported inadequate facilities and poor walking access to health centers, falling short of the “15-minute medical circle” principle.

He also noted that the revised Taipa North District Urbanization Plan has allocated land for a new health center intended to serve 20,000 residents, but no plans have yet been unveiled regarding this possibility or timeline.

In response, SSM said it has long worked with nonprofit and private medical institutions through the medical subsidy scheme, funding, and service purchasing to expand community service capacity.

It has launched a chronic disease management program that diverts stable patients from health centers to nonprofit institutions, and it will monitor its operation and extend it to other districts in phases.

“In response to Taipa’s medical needs, we will continue deepening cooperation with non-profit institutions and gradually expand the triage mechanism, making full use of community medical resources,” SSM wrote.

Regarding referrals, the bureau said it operates a two-way system between community and specialist care, with health center doctors referring patients to hospital specialists as needed and returning stable patients to health centers for follow-up. Health centers and stations provide adult, child, and women’s health services, psychological care, smoking cessation counseling, nutritional advice, physical examinations, and vaccinations.

Leong asked whether the government would consider adding health stations or centers in Taipa’s central and old-town areas beyond the northern district, whether it would adopt the “community clinic” model used in Ilha Verde and extend evening and weekend hours at the two existing centers, and whether the planned new center would be configured to complement rather than duplicate existing services.