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The SARS Expert Committee is inviting written submissions from the public to provide information on issues relating to the areas under review.
Comprising seven overseas, two Mainland and two local experts, the SARS Expert Committee will work under the purview of the following terms of reference:
(1) To review the work of the Government, including the Hospital Authority, in the management and the control of the outbreak;
(2) To examine and review the capabilities and structure of the healthcare system in Hong Kong and the organization and operation of the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority in the prevention and management of infectious diseases such as SARS; and
(3) To identify lessons to be learnt, and to make recommendations on areas of improvements in order to better prepare our system for any future outbreaks.
The Expert Committee will have to submit a report on their findings and recommendations to the Chief Executive in September 2003.
To facilitate the work of the Expert Committee, members of the public are now invited to provide information on the SARS incident and on issues relevant to the terms of reference of the Committee, particularly on areas of improvement to the health care system, the prevention and management of infectious diseases, and lessons to be learnt to better prepare our system for any future outbreaks.
Written submissions in English or Chinese should be sent to SARS Expert Committee Secretariat, Room 1808, Murray Building, Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong, or by fax to 3150-8930, or by e-mail to sars_expertcom@hwfb.gov.hk.
Submissions received will be made available to the Expert Committee for consideration. Submissions should be marked "Confidential" if necessary. The closing date for submissions is June 30, 2003.
Meanwhile, the Committee Secretariat is now compiling relevant information for the experts and arranging a video/tele-conference shortly with the experts to make preparation for the formal meetings to be held from late June in Hong Kong. Experts will meet with parties closely involved in the SARS incident and site visits will also be arranged.
Two Mainland experts will join the deliberations of the Committee. They are Dr Zhong Nan-shan, Head of the Institute for Respiratory Disease in Guangzhou, and Dr Tang Xiao-ping, Director of No. 8 People Hospital in Guangzhou.
A list of Curricula Vitae of Members of the Expert Committee is at Annex (pdf format).
End/Thursday, June 12, 2003
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