The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, today (September 5) visited Eastern District to meet with members of the Eastern District Council. She also went to Sai Wan Ho Market and Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital (PYNEH) to learn about the municipal and healthcare services in the district.
 
     Accompanied by the District Officer (Eastern), Mr Simon Chan, Professor Chan first met with the Chairman of the Eastern District Council, Mr Wong Kin-pan, and other members to exchange views on various healthcare and environmental hygiene issues.
 
     After the meeting, Professor Chan proceeded to the Sai Wan Ho Market and Cooked Food Centre to view the escalator replacement works. She also took the opportunity to chat with stall operators to understand their business environment.
 
     She said, "The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department carries out improvement works at a number of public markets which have been built for years. In addition, old escalators and lifts at the markets are being replaced in phases, and the replacement works are expected to be completed progressively in the coming years. We seek to improve the environment of public markets to attract more visitors and improve the operating conditions of stalls."
 
     Professor Chan then visited the Accident and Emergency Department's hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) centre at PYNEH to see the medical equipment of the HBOT chamber. The centre, being the first and only HBOT centre established inside a hospital in Hong Kong currently, started operation in September 2018.
 
     "HBOT was previously only available in a centre on Stonecutters Island, where the relatively remote location made patient transfer risky. Receiving treatment at a centre in a hospital definitely facilitates recovery of patients. Currently, patients of 13 types of diseases are eligible for HBOT treatment, including emergency cases like carbon monoxide poisoning and decompression illness, as well as chronic disease like diabetes and delayed radiation injuries," she said.
 
     As local healthcare professionals had not received training for applying HBOT for medical use, a number of medical staff of PYNEH were sent to undergo overseas training and are now qualified for performing the therapy. Professor Chan also chatted with front-line staff to understand their daily work during her visit.

Ends/Thursday, September 5, 2019
Issued at HKT 18:09

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