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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
Regarding the services of the 18 Designated Clinics and the seven Special Assessment Centres, the Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson provides the following updates today (September 25):
The 18 Designated Clinics today (as at 5.00 pm) provided initial assessment to 1,495 patients. Patients who require further assessment and treatment have been referred to the Special Assessment Centres. On the other hand, the seven Assessment Centres have also attended to 353 patients today.
Following a review of the service provision and operations at the Designated Clinics and Special Assessment Centres (SACs) in the last few days, HA has decided to set up two more Special Assessment Centres at Kwong Wah Hospital and North District Hospital respectively from tomorrow (September 26) to receive referrals from the Designated Clinics for follow-up assessment and treatment, and also to extend the service hours of all the SACs to cover the morning session on Saturdays.
Members of the public are reminded that SACs are set up to receive referrals from the Designated Clinics for follow-up assessment and treatment. Children who require check-up should first be brought to the Designated Clinics for preliminary assessment. The Clinics and SACs will be in operation as long as there is demand for the service. Parents therefore will not need to compete for appointment if their children are asymptomatic.
The HA would like to reiterate that the free screening service is a contingency arrangement with a prime focus on local children who have an ˇ§eligible personˇ¨ status. Other patients will be referred to private healthcare providers to reserve adequate capacity for the locals.
Ends/Thursday, September 25, 2008
Issued at HKT 19:57
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