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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
Regarding the services of the 18 Designated Clinics and the nine Special Assessment Centres, the Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson provides the following updates today (September 26):
The 18 Designated Clinics today (as at 5pm) provided initial assessment to 1,805 patients. Patients who require further assessment and treatment have been referred to the Special Assessment Centres (SAC). On the other hand, the nine Assessment Centres have also attended to 467 patients today. A total of 7,061 attendances and 1,607 assessments have been reported in the last four days at the Designated Clinics and SACs respectively.
In preparation for a possible higher service demand in view of the forthcoming extended holidays in the Mainland, HA has decided to extend the service hours of the 18 Designated Clinics. Starting from tomorrow (September 27) till October 5, all 18 Designated Clinics will provide full day service from 9am to 5pm, Mondays to Sundays, including the National Day public holiday on October 1. The arrangement of extended service hours will be closely monitored and reviewed in due course.
Members of the public are reminded that children who require check-up should first be brought to the Designated Clinics for preliminary assessment while they will be referred to the SACs for follow-up assessment and treatment if clinically indicated. Children who could not be assessed at the Designated Clinics on the same day of attendance will be given an earliest possible appointment in the following days. In the coming three days, around 800 appointments have already been made each day at the 18 Designated Clinics.
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 "eligible person" status. Other patients will be referred to private healthcare providers to reserve adequate capacity for the locals.
Ends/Friday, September 26, 2008
Issued at HKT 20:10
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