Secretary for Health visits Tuen Mun Hospital (with photos)
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Accompanied by the Cluster Chief Executive of New Territories West Cluster of the Hospital Authority (HA), Dr Wong Yiu-chung, Professor Lo and the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, visited the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department, the A&E Department's extension site which will be opened for use soon, as well as the medicine and geriatrics ward, followed by a meeting with hospital management and frontline healthcare staff to learn more about the situation of the service demand and manpower deployment at the hospital, in addition to listening to their views.
Professor Lo said, "Having gone through the epidemic for three years, Hong Kong is now moving forward on the road to normalcy at full speed, while normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland has also fully resumed since February 6. Despite a substantial rise in the cross-boundary flow of people to and from Hong Kong over the past three days, there is no significant increase in the number of non-eligible persons seeking medical treatment at the A&E departments of public hospitals under the HA. The Government will continue to closely monitor the epidemic development and the demand for public healthcare services, and ensure that the healthcare system has adequate ability and capacity, such that healthcare services will not be affected."
Together with today's visit to Tuen Mun Hospital, Professor Lo has already visited seven hospital clusters under the HA and Hong Kong Children's Hospital since early January this year. He said, "During the hospital visits, apart from taking a closer look at the measures implemented by various hospital clusters in response to the winter service surge, I am also delighted to have the opportunity to meet with frontline healthcare staff and listen to their opinions and suggestions on various aspects such as hospital services and manpower deployment as well as hardware support and the long-term development of public hospitals in Hong Kong.
"Amidst the COVID-19 epidemic over the past three years, frontline healthcare colleagues have been facing tremendous pressure with a heavy workload, especially when hospital expansion projects are still in progress in many hospitals and the working environment is not favourable. Nevertheless, they still make the well-being of patients their prime concern, staying on duty to continuously enhance the quality of healthcare services for patients under limited resources and conditions, upholding the spirit of professionalism and 'treating patients as relatives' to safeguard the health of the public and Hong Kong's healthcare system. I am deeply moved and sincerely grateful to all healthcare staff for their contributions and efforts.
"Public hospital services form the cornerstone of Hong Kong's healthcare system. As the Secretary for Health, I am committed to adopting a multi-pronged approach to strengthen the supply of public healthcare manpower, improving public healthcare services continuously through different channels and strengthening hospital infrastructure, etc to ensure the sustainable development of the public healthcare system in Hong Kong."
Ends/Thursday, February 9, 2023
Issued at HKT 19:12
Issued at HKT 19:12
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