The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) announced today (March 27) the official implementation of the two-way transfer arrangement of the Pilot Scheme for Direct Cross-boundary Ambulance Transfer in the Greater Bay Area with Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Macao starting today, marking a new phase of the Pilot Scheme.

     In his 2025 Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced that the HKSAR Government will, in collaboration with the governments of Guangdong and Macao, extend the cross-boundary ambulance transfer arrangements in an orderly manner, including two-way ambulance transfers. To ensure the smooth implementation of relevant arrangements, subsequent to the first northbound transfer drill with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government on February 10, the HKSAR Government conducted a two-way transfer drill with the governments of Zhuhai and Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR) on March 20 to assess the simulated transfer of patients under the cross-boundary ambulance transfer arrangements.

     During the drill, the Zhuhai and Macao ambulances first departed from designated receiving hospitals in Zhuhai and Macao respectively (i.e. Zhuhai People's Hospital (ZHPH) and Conde S. Januario Hospital of Macao (CHCSJ)), and travelled to the designated Hong Kong sending hospitals (i.e. Princess Margaret Hospital and Hong Kong Children's Hospital) via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port to pick up the patients, and then transferred the patients back to the aforementioned designated receiving hospitals via the same port for treatment. The testing process was smooth.

      The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, said, "Direct cross-boundary ambulance transfer in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is one of the important measures of the Outline Development Plan for the GBA. It is also a policy measure as announced by the Chief Executive in his 2023 and 2025 Policy Addresses. The official implementation of two-way transfer of the Pilot Scheme starting today offers a safer, more timely and convenient transfer arrangement for patients in the region with specific needs. This marks a significant milestone of realising high-quality medical collaboration in the GBA and advancing the high-quality development of a 'Healthy Bay Area'.

     "The arrangements for direct cross-boundary ambulance transfer in the GBA involve cross-boundary travelling of vehicles, healthcare personnel, drugs and medical devices, and more. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to various national ministries, including the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, the National Health Commission and the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China, for their support and guidance that contributed to the further extension of the Pilot Scheme to two-way transfer arrangements. I would also like to thank various authorities of the governments of the Guangdong Province, Zhuhai Municipality and Shenzhen Municipality as well as the Macao SAR for their close collaboration and concerted efforts, which facilitate the advancement of the Pilot Scheme in a smooth and orderly manner. In addition, I would like to thank a number of HKSAR government departments and organisations, including the Security Bureau, the Transport and Logistics Bureau, the Hong Kong Police Force, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, the Immigration Department, the Transport Department, the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority, for their full co-operation."

     The overall operation of the Pilot Scheme has been smooth since its launch on November 30, 2024. The Pilot Scheme will be extended until November 29 this year. As at late March, 25 patients have been transferred from designated sending hospitals in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Nansha, and Macao (i.e. the University of Hong Kong - Shenzhen Hospital, ZHPH, Nansha Division of the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, and CHCSJ) to designated public hospitals in Hong Kong for treatment. According to professional medical assessments, the patients concerned have a need for continuous hospitalisation for treatment. Their conditions were relatively stable, but they were unable to cross the boundary on their own and were unsuitable for transfer to an ambulance via the existing boundary control points.

     The government departments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao will continue to review the effectiveness and operational experiences of the existing transfer arrangements, with the medical needs, safety and interests of patients as the prime concerns, as well as to continuously optimise the arrangements of cross-boundary ambulance transfer.

Ends/Friday, March 27, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:08

NNNN