The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) announced today (May 18) that it will gradually adopt a set of designated prefixes for caller identification (caller ID) numbers starting next Tuesday (May 26). Going forward, telephone calls made by the HA will display a unified caller ID number beginning with either 18285 or 18286. The new caller ID number will consist of seven digits, and each operating unit under the HA will be allocated a number between 1828 500 and 1828 599 or between 1828 600 and 1828 699 for caller ID purposes.

     "After the HA adopts caller ID numbers beginning with 18285 or 18286, members of the public can clearly identify HA calls, thereby reducing the chances of them refusing to answer calls due to concerns about excessive promotional calls or potential phone scams, and even missing urgent calls from accident and emergency departments or wards. We encourage members of the public who frequently use public hospital services to save the new caller ID numbers to their mobile phone contact list, which can help reduce refusals to answer caused by misunderstanding," the HA spokesperson said.

     HA operating units, including public hospitals, family medicine clinics, specialist outpatient clinics, healthcare institutions, and the HA Head Office will progressively switch to the special caller ID numbers within the coming month, with completion expected by the end of June. For the caller ID numbers of the various operating units, please refer to the appendix.

     The spokesperson added, "The caller ID transition will be implemented in phases, and the switchover timing will vary across different operating units. Members of the public should take care to verify the identity of the caller when receiving calls from public hospitals. Where the HA needs to contact members of the public, it will generally do so by having staff call them directly and provide relevant information to verify identity. The HA reminds members of the public not to provide any personal information to calls from unknown sources to avoid privacy breaches. If they suspect that they have received a scam call, they should seek assistance from the Police."

     The HA also reminds members of the public that all numbers starting with 18285 or 18286 will be used solely for caller ID purposes of calls made by the HA, to assist the public in identifying incoming calls. When members of the public call back the number, they will generally only hear a recorded phone message indicating which public hospital or clinic the call originated from. If necessary, staff will contact them again proactively later. The caller ID number will not be connected to the relevant public hospital or clinic. After the caller ID number transition, the phone numbers of the HA operating units remain unchanged. Members of the public may visit the HA website to check the relevant dialing numbers.

     ​In addition, the HA also reminds members of the public that, for operational needs, some HA operating units will still retain a small number of direct landline numbers or use mobile phones to contact members of the public. For such calls, the caller ID numbers will not start with 18285 or 18286.

Ends/Monday, May 18, 2026
Issued at HKT 20:57

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