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The Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, visited the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (March 16) to review the centre's work in disease prevention and control.
Accompanied by the Director of Health, Dr PY Lam, and the CHP's Controller, Dr PY Leung, Mr Tsang started his visit at the CHP's Surveillance and Epidemiology Branch where he was briefed on how infectious diseases were monitored and how the CHP collaborated with local, Mainland and overseas healthcare professionals and institutions.
Mr Tsang also took the opportunity to familiarise himself with the work of epidemiological investigation teams in tracing the source of infection and containing the spread of infectious diseases.
He said that Government should be for the people, so one of its top priorities was to work with the community to provide measures to minimise the spread of infectious diseases in Hong Kong.
"Infectious diseases do not respect geographical boundaries," Mr Tsang said. "To this end, the CHP has maintained close ties with local and international healthcare professionals in monitoring the development of various infectious diseases. CHP staff visit the Mainland to stay informed about disease outbreaks there so they can reduce the chance of spreading the diseases to Hong Kong," he said.
Mr Tsang also visited the Emergency Response and Information Branch, which has a multi-disciplinary workforce comprising medical staff, administrative officers and police officers. He was told that the branch was tasked with the formulation of an emergency preparedness plan and risk communication strategy for combating a public health crisis. It staged briefings and seminars for different sectors of the community on the Government Emergency Preparedness for Influenza Pandemic to encourage them to devise their own preparedness plans.
Mr Tsang then toured the Emergency Response Centre, Outbreak Intelligence Centre, Emergency Hotline Centre and the Risk Communication Centre, which will host media briefings, and was told how these facilities would operate in the event that a pandemic struck Hong Kong.
"Through the strenuous efforts of the CHP in the past months, various sectors of the community now have a better understanding of the importance of devising their own preparedness plans well ahead of a possible pandemic," Mr Tsang said.
"If all sectors involved maintain their vigilance and adopt appropriate preventive measures, the risk of human infection and fatalities will be greatly reduced. Even if a pandemic does strike, the community will recover at a faster pace."
Mr Tsang later toured the simulation wards where infection control training is provided to healthcare professionals.
He concluded his visit by meeting Department of Health staff working in different areas. The staff shared with him the challenges they faced in disease prevention and control.
"Despite their heavy responsibilities in the face of the global threat of avian influenza, I am happy to see that CHP staff spare no effort in carrying out their duties with the utmost professionalism. The public can count on their expertise to provide timely warnings and emergency arrangements should the disease strike," he said.
Mr Tsang praised the staff for their dedication and readiness to face challenges. Their professionalism, devotion and ability to handle public health crises at any time were greatly appreciated, he said.
Ends/Thursday, March 16, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:50
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