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Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (April 24):
Question:
At present, whole-day acute care services are provided for residents of West Kowloon by Kwong Wah Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital and Caritas Medical Centre. The preparatory works for the redevelopment of Kwong Wah Hospital (redevelopment project) have already commenced in March this year. Some residents have expressed their concern that the project might impact gravely on the medical services provided by the hospital and lengthen the waiting time for various kinds of services, thereby delaying treatment of patients, and exerting significant pressure on other hospitals in the Kowloon West Cluster and the acute care services of the nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(a) the present progress and implementation timetable of the preparatory works for the redevelopment project;
(b) based on the latest assessment conducted by the Hospital Authority (HA), whether the various medical services provided by Kwong Wah Hospital, such as acute care services, operations and medical check-ups, etc. will be affected during its redevelopment; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, of the details of the corresponding measures and plans; whether, on the principle that neither the waiting time nor the medical care quality should be affected, HA plans to arrange for members of the public to undergo operations and medical check-ups and receive other medical treatments, which have been scheduled, in nearby hospitals; if it has, of the details;
(c) whether Kwong Wah Hospital has coordinated with other hospitals (in particular those of the Kowloon West and Kowloon Central Clusters) in respect of the following matters to avoid the situation where residents seeking acute care services converge excessively on a certain hospital: assessment of the pressure on the medical services provided by such hospitals while the redevelopment project is in progress, formulation of corresponding measures, establishment of a mechanism for the various hospitals to regularly exchange information on their acute care services and provide relevant information to the public, as well as regulation of the number of people seeking treatment and patient flow; and
(d) whether HA will regularly announce the progress of the works of the redevelopment project to enhance transparency; if it will, of the details?
Reply:
President,
(a) The Finance Committee of the Legislative Council approved in February 2013 funding of $552.7 million for the Hospital Authority (HA) to commence the preparatory work of the redevelopment project of Kwong Wah Hospital (KWH). The preparatory work, which started in March this year, has been progressing on schedule. It mainly includes site investigation, building survey, decanting works, as well as consultancy services for outline sketch design, detailed design, tender documentation and tender assessment for the main works. It is estimated that demolition and construction works of the complex involved in the main works will be carried out in phases starting from 2016 and the entire redevelopment project will be completed by 2022.
(b) and (c) The accident and emergency services of KWH will remain unchanged during the redevelopment period. Any disruption of non-emergency services, if unavoidable, will be kept to a minimum. To this end, the main works of the redevelopment of KWH will commence in phases.
The first phase involves the demolition of three existing hospital buildings for the phase one construction of the new complex. The new complex has a floor area larger than that of the existing hospital buildings and will be used to reprovision clinical services from the remaining buildings during their demolition in the second phase of the main works.
During the first phase of the main works, KWH will, through decanting arrangements, relocate the existing clinical services provided in the South Wing to the East Wing and the North Wing, which are not yet demolished, so as to maintain the essential clinical services on-site. Other ancillary facilities such as offices, stores and staff accommodation will be temporarily decanted off-site so that the vacated spaces in buildings not demolished in the first phase could be used to accommodate the affected clinical services so as to ensure continuity of clinical services for patients in need.
Besides the phased implementation of the project, KWH will extend service hours of the operating theatres so that patients' waiting time for operations will not be affected by the redevelopment. Specialist out-patient consultation services will not be affected as they are provided at the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs) Tsui Tsin Tong Out-patient Building which will not be demolished in the redevelopment project. Ambulatory care services and support to patients in the local community will be strengthened, hence reducing the need for hospitalisation. The Kowloon West Cluster will deploy service places and services of various hospitals with flexibility according to service needs, so as to provide the public with necessary healthcare services during the redevelopment of the hospital.
(d) HA has maintained liaison with local bodies, such as Yau Tsim Mong District Council (YTMDC), Yau Tsim Mong District Office and different area committees in Yau Tsim Mong, etc. KWH also consulted YTMDC on the redevelopment project in January 2012 and has obtained its support. When the project is underway, KWH will regularly report the latest progress to, collect views from and timely address the concerns of relevant stakeholders (e.g. YTMDC, schools in the vicinity, owners' corporations of buildings in the district, as well as relevant government departments and non-government organisations) through available channels.
Ends/Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:19
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