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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
Regarding the services of the Designated Clinics (DCs) and the Special Assessment Centres (SACs), the Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson provided the following update today (March 30):
The DCs today (as at 5pm) and last Saturday (March 28) morning provided initial assessment to a total of 110 patients. Patients who require further assessment and treatment are referred to the SACs. The SACs attended to 27 patients. A total of 56,804 attendances and 27,449 assessments have been reported at the DCs and SACs respectively since they began operations on September 23, 2008.
In view of the decreasing demand for the screening service, the HA earlier announced that the free health screening service in the 18 DCs will be in operation until tomorrow (March 31), while the free SAC service will remain in operation until April 9, or when all referrals from the DCs have been provided with further assessment service.
As of today, the HA has reported 15 cases of renal problems suspected to be related to the consumption of melamine tainted milk products.
The HA reiterated that the free screening service was a contingency arrangement with its prime focus on local children who had an "eligible person" status. Other patients will be referred to private healthcare providers to reserve adequate capacity for locals.
Ends/Monday, March 30, 2009
Issued at HKT 19:01
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