kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
Secretary for Health meets Xiamen Municipal Public Health delegation (with photos) 
18.10.2023

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with the Xiamen Municipal Public Health delegation led by the Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of Xiamen Municipal People's Congress, Mr Zheng Yuelin, today (October 18) to explore the room and potential for collaboration between Xiamen and Hong Kong on healthcare aspects. At the meeting, Professor Lo introduced to the delegation Hong Kong's policy and latest developments in the primary healthcare area including various measures rolled out since the release of the Primary Healthcare Blueprint last December, such as the establishment of a community-based primary healthcare system, advocacy of the family doctor concept and promotion of the mindset of early management of health and chronic diseases among citizens, as well as enhancements to the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHealth). Moreover, Professor Lo also shared with the delegation the latest developments in various healthcare fields in Hong Kong, covering work in medical innovation, public health enhancement, hospital management, service quality advancement, etc. Both sides also agreed to give priority to exploring co-operation on the aforementioned healthcare aspects in the future. Professor Lo said, "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has all along been reinforcing co-operation on healthcare service developments with various Mainland provinces and cities under the principle of complementarity and mutual benefits, and on the premise of benefitting the healthcare development of both the Mainland and Hong Kong to level up the healthcare quality. Looking ahead, we will remain committed to fostering cross-boundary medical co-operation so as to propel the important national strategy of 'Healthy China' through concerted contributions." The Acting Director of Health, Dr Amy Chiu; the Commissioner for Primary Healthcare of the Health Bureau (HHB), Dr Pang Fei-chau; the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Dr Tony Ko, and other officials of the HHB also attended the meeting today.
Secretary for Health receives seasonal influenza vaccination (with photos)
28.9.2023

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, received a seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) at the Sai Wan Ho General Out-patient Clinic today (September 28) and called on members of the public to get vaccinated early for protection in light of the influenza seasons. The Permanent Secretary for Health, Mr Thomas Chan; the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH), Dr Edwin Tsui; the Chairman of the Hospital Authority (HA), Mr Henry Fan; the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko, and frontline healthcare workers also echoed the move and received SIV in the same event. Professor Lo said, "SIV is one of the most effective means for preventing seasonal influenza and its complications, effective in reducing the occurrence of influenza-related hospitalisation and death. I therefore encourage members of the public to receive SIV. Moreover, persons contracting influenza and COVID-19 at the same time may have a higher risk of developing serious illness and death. Citizens can consult healthcare personnel about getting COVID-19 vaccination in a timely manner when they receive SIV as a protection for their personal health." Hong Kong has entered the summer influenza season and the winter influenza season is approaching. Considering the latest surveillance data of the percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for seasonal influenza viruses as well as the influenza-associated admission rate in public hospitals, local seasonal influenza activity is seen to be on a rising trend. A significant increase was also recorded in the number of outbreak of influenza-like illness at schools since the school year started in early September. People belonging to the priority groups, i.e. persons aged 50 or above (including the elderly living in residential care homes), adults aged 18 to 49 years with underlying comorbidities, persons aged 6 months or above and with immunocompromising conditions, pregnant women and healthcare workers should receive SIV as early as possible. For dual protection, those in the aforementioned groups should receive an additional COVID-19 vaccine booster in a timely manner with a dosing interval of at least six months after the last dose or recovery from COVID-19 infection (whichever is later), regardless of the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses they received. A COVID-19 vaccine can be co-administered with, or separated from, an SIV. An interval of 14 days is sufficient if people wish to space out a COVID-19 vaccine with an SIV. The Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Subsidy Scheme 2023/24 was launched today, whereas the Government Vaccination Programme, the SIV School Outreach (Free of Charge) Programme and the Residential Care Home Vaccination Programme will begin on October 5. Members of the public may call the CHP's telephone number 2125 2125 or visit the CHP's Vaccination Schemes page for more details.
Secretary for Health visits Shek Kip Mei Health Centre and temporary Shek Kip Mei General Out-patient Clinic (with photos)
27.9.2023

âThe Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, visited the Shek Kip Mei Health Centre and the temporary Shek Kip Mei General Out-patient Clinic (temporary clinic) this morning (September 27) to get a better grasp of the redevelopment details of the Shek Kip Mei Health Centre and the setting up of a temporary clinic in the district in the light of such redevelopment. Accompanied by the Director (Quality and Safety) of the Hospital Authority (HA), Dr Michael Wong, the Cluster Chief Executive of Kowloon West Cluster of the HA, Dr Alexander Law, and representatives from the Architectural Services Department, Professor Lo started the visit at the Shek Kip Mei Health Centre where he received an introduction on redevelopment details. Located at Berwick Street, the facilities of the Shek Kip Mei Health Centre are in a state of dilapidation after having been in service for over 60 years. Taking into account the ageing and growing population, the Government expects a mounting demand for primary healthcare services by the Sham Shui Po community. In this connection, the Health Bureau (HHB) plans to demolish the Shek Kip Mei Health Centre and develop in-situ a Community Health Centre (CHC) building. Apart from the HA's CHC which will also provide general out-patient services, the proposed building will at the same time house several facilities of the Department of Health, including a chest clinic, a maternal and child health centre as well as a dermatological clinic. Professor Lo then proceeded to visit the temporary clinic at Mei Hei House in Shek Kip Mei Estate to learn about the relocation arrangement of general out-patient services originally provided at the Shek Kip Mei Health Centre to the present site and the operation of the temporary clinic. "The proposed CHC building will serve members of the public with diversified primary healthcare and nursing services at one single location by consolidating public primary healthcare service facilities in the district. Upon commissioning of the building, we will increase the quotas of general out-patient services in phases, with an expectation of some 154 000 additional quotas at maximum each year. The redevelopment has secured support from the Sham Shui Po District Council last year. The HHB is working to seek funding approval from the Legislative Council as early as possible, with a view to commencing the construction works at the earliest instance," Professor Lo said. "The temporary clinic set up by the HA came into service at the beginning of this year. With this transitional arrangement, it is aimed that provision of appropriate and coherent primary healthcare services can be continued for patients in the district before the commissioning of the proposed Shek Kip Mei CHC."
Health Bureau and Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission sign Framework Agreement on Medical Collaboration between Shenzhen and Hong Kong (with photos)
26.9.2023

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, and the Director General of the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission, Ms Wu Hongyan, leading delegations of the governments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Shenzhen respectively, held in Shenzhen today (September 26) a meeting of the Task Force for Medical Collaboration between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The two parties signed the Framework Agreement on Medical Collaboration between Shenzhen and Hong Kong at the meeting. The Agreement covers areas such as healthcare services, nurturing of talent, clinical medical research, hospital quality accreditation on an international level and collaboration on Chinese medicine. The signing of the Framework Agreement paves the way for the further deepening of cross-boundary healthcare service development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and facilitates the flow of talent, drugs and medical devices as well as healthcare services between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Professor Lo said, "Under the principle of complementarity and mutual benefits, and on the premise of benefitting the healthcare development of both the Mainland and Hong Kong, the HKSAR Government has all along been working together with various Mainland provinces and cities in reinforcing co-operation on healthcare service development for levelling up healthcare quality. The Framework Agreement signed between the Health Bureau and the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission would inject new impetus to our joint efforts in pressing ahead the co-ordinated development of the GBA. "In fact, the HKSAR Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government have been maintaining close communication with strong co-operation on the healthcare front. During the fifth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, the two places had seamless collaboration in the monitoring, prevention and control of the epidemic. Upon the full resumption of normal travel between the Mainland and Hong Kong earlier this year, we have been engaging in in-depth interactions with the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission. We had a constructive discussion during the Task Force meeting today in areas including healthcare innovation, hospital management and service quality advancement. "Looking ahead, we will remain committed to fostering co-operation within the GBA, so as to propel the important national strategy of 'Healthy China' through concerted contributions." The Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; Deputy Secretary for Health Mr Sam Hui; the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Dr Tony Ko; and other officials of the Health Bureau also attended the signing ceremony.
Secretary for Health visits CUHK Faculty of Medicine (with photos)
21.9.2023

âThe Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, visited the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CU Medicine) today (September 21) to get a better grasp of the latest progress of CU Medicine in enhancing healthcare teaching facilities and meet with teaching staff and students to exchange views. Accompanied by the Dean of CU Medicine, Professor Francis Chan, Professor Lo and the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, visited the healthcare teaching facilities of CU Medicine in Prince of Wales Hospital and on the CUHK campus to understand the progress of the works projects for enhancing the relevant facilities. They then proceeded to meet with some medical students and listened to their sharing of their faith in the choice of study, latest learning experience as well as aspiration for pursuing careers in medicine. Professor Lo said, "Sufficient healthcare manpower is indispensable to the effective operation of the city's healthcare system and sustainable provision of services that best suit the needs of the public. To this end, the Government has been taking forward a series of measures to enhance training for healthcare manpower, including increasing the number of healthcare training places and supporting University Grants Committee-funded universities to upgrade and expand healthcare teaching facilities, to address challenges such as the mounting demand for healthcare services and tight manpower in the public healthcare system. "The Government will continue to devote resources to training healthcare professionals of various disciplines to ensure the quality of healthcare services. Meanwhile, I hope that students studying healthcare programmes will actively engage in the public healthcare services after graduation while bearing in mind their aspiration for safeguarding the well-being of Hong Kong citizens."
Secretary for Health to lead delegation to attend 5th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Conference on Inheritance, Innovation and Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine
13.9.2023

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, will lead a delegation to Foshan today (September 13) to attend the 5th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Conference on Inheritance, Innovation and Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine, with a view to continuing the drive for the construction of the Chinese medicine (CM) highlands in the GBA as well as exchanges and co-operation in the area of CM. The conference is co-organised by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Bureau of Guangdong Province, the Health Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HHB), the Health Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government and the People's Government of Foshan Municipality. Professor Lo will deliver a speech at the opening ceremony tomorrow morning (September 14) and attend the seminar on the co-operation mechanism of the construction of the CM highlands in the GBA in the afternoon. Members of the delegation include the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority (HA), Dr Tony Ko; the Acting Project Director of the Chinese Medicine Hospital Project Office of the HHB, Ms Virginia Leung; the Acting Commissioner for Chinese Medicine Development of the HHB, Mr Dominic Ho; the Assistant Director of Health (Chinese Medicine), Dr Edmund Fong; and the Chief Manager (Chinese Medicine) of the HA, Ms Rowena Wong. ãã Professor Lo will return to Hong Kong tomorrow night. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, will be the Acting Secretary for Health.
Secretary for Health meets National Health Commission delegation (with photos)
12.9.2023

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with a delegation led by the Director General of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs of the National Health Commission (NHC), Ms Zhang Yang, today (September 12) to exchange views on deepening medical co-operation between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). At the meeting, Professor Lo introduced to the delegation the latest development in various healthcare fields in Hong Kong, including the effort put into medical innovation, public health enhancement, hospital management, service quality advancement and organ transplant. Professor Lo said, "Under the principle of complementarity and mutual benefits and on the premise of benefitting the healthcare development of both the Mainland and Hong Kong, the HKSAR Government has been working together with various Mainland provinces and cities in reinforcing co-operation on healthcare service development for levelling up the healthcare quality. Upon the full resumption of normal travel between the Mainland and Hong Kong earlier this year, the HKSAR has restored close liaison with the NHC as well as various provinces and cities on healthcare development. Over the past few months, we have been engaging in in-depth interaction with the NHC, the Health Commission of Guangdong Province and the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission, and at the same time we have met with representatives of various Municipal Health Commissions of cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Tianjin. "Looking ahead, we will remain committed to fostering regional collaboration, thereby enhancing the quality and efficiency of healthcare services as well as propelling the important national strategy of 'Healthy China' through concerted contributions." The Permanent Secretary for Health, Mr Thomas Chan; the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; and the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Dr Tony Ko, also joined the meeting today.
Secretary for Health inspects Tuen Mun Hospital's work on establishment of Integrated Neuroscience Centre (with photos)
17.8.2023

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, visited Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH) this afternoon (August 17) to inspect its work on setting up an Integrated Neuroscience Centre. Accompanied by the Director of Cluster Services of the Hospital Authority (HA), Dr Simon Tang, and the Cluster Chief Executive of New Territories West Cluster of the HA, Dr Wong Yiu-chung, Professor Lo and the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, received a briefing from the healthcare personnel of TMH on the progress in establishing the Integrated Neuroscience Centre. The Chief Executive set out in last year's Policy Address that the HA would set up integrated neuroscience centres with TMH being one of the hospitals taking the lead to establish such a centre. Professor Lo said, "To tie in with the establishment of the Integrated Neuroscience Centre, TMH will actively press ahead with cross-specialty collaboration and service integration, alongside the introduction of advance technologies. I earnestly anticipate that the Centre will provide one-stop, safe and efficient, as well as patient-oriented, integrated neuromedicine services for patients suffering from acute stroke, dyskinesia and epilepsy, etc."
Secretary for Health visits Lam Tin Maternal and Child Health Centre and Lam Tin Student Health Service Centre (with photos) 
15.8.2023

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, visited the Lam Tin Maternal and Child Health Centre (MCHC) and the Lam Tin Student Health Service Centre (SHSC) under the Department of Health (DH) this afternoon (August 15) to inspect their operations, including that of the health services for infants, school children and women. Accompanied by the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, Professor Lo and the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, first visited the MCHC to learn more about the services provided by the DH's Family Health Service (including child health, maternal health, family planning, cervical screening and women health services). They then visited the SHSC and received a briefing by staff members on the annual health assessment services offered to students. While certain student health services were suspended earlier due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the DH announced yesterday (August 14) that the annual health assessment services for all grades of primary and secondary school students will be resumed during the school year 2023/24. Professor Lo said, "Health is of the utmost importance to children's growth and development. The MCHCs and the SHSCs run comprehensive health surveillance and disease prevention services for infants and school children according to their needs at different stages, thereby safeguarding our next generation and enabling them to grow up healthily and happily. "Meanwhile, the DH provides a wide range of health services to support the needs of women at different stages of lives and in various roles, especially those women in their antenatal and postnatal periods. I note in particular that multiple breastfeeding-friendly measures were launched in the MCHC to ensure that lactating mothers can receive all the necessary support." The DH's Family Health Service offers health promotion and disease prevention services for infants and children from birth to 5 years old as well as women aged 64 or below at its MCHCs and Woman Health Centres. Services for children include immunisation, health and developmental surveillance and parenting programmes, whereas those for women range from prenatal and postnatal as well as cervical screening to family planning and women health. Meanwhile, the DH's Student Health Service aims to safeguard both the physical and the psychological well-being of students through health promotion and disease prevention services. Meeting the health needs of students at various stages of development, the SHSCs' free annual health assessment services for the eligible enrolled primary and secondary school students cover physical examination, screening for vision, hearing, psychological health and behaviours, etc, as well as individual health counselling and health education.
Secretary for Health fully supports blood donation drives (with photos)
14.8.2023

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, and the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, donated blood today (August 14) on the mobile blood donation vehicle of the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) parked at the Central Government Offices (CGO) to personally participate in the support of blood donation drives and efforts of the BTS. They also appealed to members of the public, including government personnel, to donate blood actively to join hands in helping those in need. The mobile blood donation vehicle is parked at the CGO from today until August 16 (Wednesday) to offer convenience to government personnel for blood donation. Professor Lo said, "The entire blood donation process was very quick and simply felt like getting a mosquito bite without any discomfort. There is no substitute for blood which has a limited shelf life. The BTS needs to collect 650 units of blood daily to provide sufficient blood for clinical transfusions for patients in need of timely rescue in all hospitals across the city. A stable and sufficient blood supply of the blood inventories rests upon the voluntary and selfless donation of blood by dedicated citizens. A single unit of whole blood donated each time can save at least three or more patients." Professor Lo added, "Different government departments and disciplined services have already organised multiple blood donation drives for government personnel in recent months. We call on more members of the public to join in donating blood and saving lives by becoming regular blood donors. We also encourage enterprises and community groups to host more blood donation drives and shoulder the mission of donating blood to save lives. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all devoted citizens who support blood donation drives. I hope that such spirit of mutual assistance and love can continue to spread across the community. The Government will remain committed to fully supporting blood donation drives." Other than setting up multiple blood donation centres across various districts in Hong Kong, the BTS also dispatches mobile blood donation teams and mobile blood donation vehicles to visit different organisations and communities every day to facilitate blood donation by members of the public. Members of the public can make appointments for blood donation by calling a donor centre or via the "HK Blood" mobile application. For details, please visit www.ha.org.hk/rcbts .