From tomorrow, the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme (EHVS) will be extended to include primary healthcare services provided by audiologists, dietitians, clinical psychologists and speech therapists under the Accredited Registers Scheme for Healthcare Professions.

Making the announcement today, the Government added that medical equipment provided by these four healthcare professions will also be included upon professional assessment.

It is estimated that almost 1.7 million elderly people will benefit from the scheme's enhancement.

Audiologists, dietitians, clinical psychologists and speech therapists registered with the relevant healthcare professional bodies accredited under the Accredited Registers Scheme for Healthcare Professions are urged to enrol in the EHVS so as to give seniors more choice of private primary healthcare services.

Together with the four new categories of healthcare professions, eligible seniors will be able to use the vouchers to pay for primary healthcare services provided by a total of 14 categories of healthcare professions.

They include: medical practitioners, Chinese medicine practitioners, dentists, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiographers, medical laboratory technologists, chiropractors, optometrists with Part I registration, audiologists, dietitians, clinical psychologists and speech therapists.

As at the end of March, over 11,000 healthcare service providers have enrolled in the EHVS. Eligible citizens can use the vouchers at more than 33,000 service points in the 18 districts.

Information on enrolled service providers and relevant practices are available online. Call 2838 2311 for enquiries.