The opening ceremony of the North District Family Medicine Integrated Centre (NDFMIC) was held today (October 10). It was also announced that the Hospital Authority (HA)'s General Out-patient Clinic (GOPC) and Family Medicine Specialist Clinic (FMSC) services will be unified under the name of "Family Medicine Out-patient Services" with effect from tomorrow (October 11). The HA's GOPCs and Community Health Centres (CHCs) will also be named as Family Medicine Clinics (FMCs) and Family Medicine Integrated Centres (FMICs) respectively on the same day. The renaming aims to implement the recommendations set out in the Primary Healthcare Blueprint to co-ordinate the HA's repositioning of GOPC services to focus on serving underprivileged groups, and to highlight the development direction of primary healthcare services, which is providing people-oriented services based on Family Medicine principles with a focus on prevention. The information of the HA's 74 FMCs and FMICs is set out at Annex 1.

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, said, "The HA's Family Medicine team will focus on caring for the underprivileged groups and become their family doctors, providing them with comprehensive primary healthcare services through the Family Medicine service model. In addition to treating episodic illnesses with relatively mild symptoms, the team will also focus on providing services including personalised health screenings, chronic disease prevention and management, vaccinations, and health education."

     In addition, the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Cecilia Fan, who officiated at the opening ceremony today also announced that the Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission) has launched a newly designed logo (see Annex 2). The new logo will be displayed at District Health Centres (DHCs)/DHC Expresses under the PHC Commission, as well as the HA's FMCs and FMICs co-ordinated by the PHC Commission, marking a new milestone for Hong Kong's primary healthcare services.

     In developing the strategy to focus on caring for the underprivileged group through a Family Medicine service model, the PHC Commission has been expanding the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme to designated HA's FMCs and FMICs in phases since end-March this year, providing underprivileged groups with hypertension, high blood glucose and hyperlipidaemia screenings, as well as chronic disease management services. Moreover, the HA has incorporated women's health services into designated FMCs and FMICs, providing comprehensive preventive care and health promotion services to eligible underprivileged women. The NDFMIC that officially opened today is one of the HA's service locations providing women's health services in the initial phase.

     The Chairman of the HA, Mr Henry Fan, also officiated at the opening ceremony today. He said the NDFMIC will develop a comprehensive district health network for residents in the North District based on a community-based principle. The Centre will provide Family Medicine out-patient consultations, multidisciplinary care and allied health services, patient education and other supporting services, offering a comprehensive range of primary healthcare services for residents in the North District. The NDFMIC is located at the North District Community Health Centre Building, 3 Wai Wo Street, Sheung Shui, which was the original North District Community Health Centre.

     The HA reminds patients that the original services of all its GOPCs and CHCs will remain unaffected after the renaming. Chronic disease follow-up patients should continue to attend their scheduled appointments at their original clinics with their original follow-up appointment documents, while patients with episodic diseases may continue to book an appointment through the "HA Go" mobile application or the telephone appointment system.

     The HA is well prepared for the renaming of facilities and will gradually change the names and logos of the relevant facilities, as well as update the information on the websites. Notices will also be displayed at prominent locations of the clinics to inform service users of the relevant arrangements. In addition, the HA has already informed respective District Councils, relevant government departments and organisations about the renaming of facilities, and will continue to maintain close liaison with different stakeholders, with a view to ensuring members of the public can receive relevant information clearly.

Ends/Friday, October 10, 2025
Issued at HKT 18:22

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