LCQ13: Public transport and transitional arrangements for Kai Tak Hospital
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Question:
Kai Tak Hospital (KTH) commenced its first phase of services in October 2026. However, some members of the public have relayed that the frequencies of public transport to the hospital are relatively low, with some routes offering only one-way special departures, and a lack of direct routes to Kowloon Central areas such as Lok Fu and Hung Hom. This has resulted in some patients being unable to attend their appointments at the hospital on time due to transport problems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Transport Department has discussed with franchised bus and green minibus operators increasing the frequencies of existing routes to and from KTH, introducing return journeys for one-way routes such as KMB 11A and 17A or converting them to two-way services, and introducing more direct bus and minibus routes between KTH and Kowloon Central areas (such as Lok Fu, Hung Hom); if so, of the details (including new routes, frequencies and the implementation timetable); if not, the reasons for that;
(2) whether KTH will provide flexible appointment arrangements for outpatients who are late for their appointments due to public transport delays, so that they do not need to reschedule their appointments; if so, of the details of the relevant guidelines and arrangements; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) given that during the phased transfer of the services of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) to KTH, the Hospital Authority will provide a special "one-off outpatient" arrangement for patients who mistakenly attend QEH for appointments, under which they will be seen by ward-based specialists at QEH or receive telemedicine consultations from doctors at KTH, (i) of the respective numbers of patients who have made use of the special arrangement and those who have been treated by ward-based specialists at QEH to date; and (ii) when the special arrangement is expected to be terminated?
Reply:
President,
In consultation with the Transport and Logistics Bureau and the Hospital Authority (HA), the reply to the question raised by the Hon Yang Wing-kit is as follows:
With a total gross floor area of 500 000 square metres, Kai Tak Hospital (KTH) will provide 2 400 beds upon full commissioning, making it the largest public hospital in Hong Kong and the flagship hospital of the Kowloon Central Cluster (KCC). Serving a population of 1.8 million covering Yau Tsim Mong, Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong districts, KTH assumes the role of public healthcare hub in Kowloon. KTH will leverage its strengths to enhance collaboration with other hospitals within the KCC, while supporting other Kowloon clusters to further enhance the quality of public healthcare services in Kowloon.
KTH has commenced services progressively in phases starting from October 5, 2026. Departments providing services at present include:
- The Family Medicine Integrated Centre, the Department of Pharmacy and the Patient Resource Centre, commenced services on October 5, 2026, providing a series of family medicine out-patient primary healthcare services. During the initial stage of the hospital's opening, around 250 family medicine clinic (FMC) quotas were provided per day. Patients suffering from episodic diseases can schedule an appointment for the next 24 hours via the "Book FMC" function on HA Go, the HA's one-stop mobile application, or through the telephone booking system;
- Allied health services, including the Departments of Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Dietetics, Podiatry, as well as Prosthetic and Orthotic, which have progressively commenced since October 6, 2026;
- Specialist out-patient services of the Departments of Surgery, Neurosurgery and Clinical Oncology, as well as specimen collection services of the Department of Pathology, which have commenced since October 26, 2026; and
- Treatment and examination services of the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, including X-ray, ultrasound scan, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography (CT) scan and positron emission tomography-CT scan, which have commenced in batches since October 26, 2026.
In addition, the HA will arrange the transfer of patients from Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) to KTH for the following services in a progressive manner:
- Specialist out-patient services of the Departments of Medicine and Family Medicine will commence in mid-November 2026;
- Day services of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology will commence in late November 2026; and
- The remaining specialist out-patient services, including the Departments of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, as well as major clinical services, such as all in-patient, surgical and Accident and Emergency services, are expected to be transferred to KTH in 2028 when the Acute Block is completed.
(1) Regarding public transport arrangements in respect of KTH, the Transport Department (TD) has maintained close liaison with the HA, relevant government departments, District Councils and local stakeholders. Having regard to various factors including the distribution of patients' districts of residence, the TD has assessed the overall public transport demand of KTH to undertake advance planning.
During the initial stage from October 5 to October 26, only around 250 FMC quotas were provided per day. Currently, multiple MTR stations (including Kai Tak, Kowloon Bay, Ngau Tau Kok, Kwun Tong, Yau Tong, Sung Wong Toi, To Kwa Wan and Wong Tai Sin), as well as major areas in Kowloon (such as Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Tong, Tsz Wan Shan, Mei Foo and Sau Mau Ping), are served by a total of 16 franchised bus (FB) and green minibus (GMB) routes providing direct services to KTH. More than 40 FB and GMB routes serving the Kowloon Bay Business Area adjacent to KTH have en-route stops along Kai Fuk Road or near the Zero Carbon Park. Members of the public can reach KTH within a few minutes on foot via the covered footbridge near GREEN@KWUN TONG. Among these routes, Citybus route 22S connecting MTR Kai Tak Station and Sung Wong Toi Station to KTH is relatively popular. In addition, in response to local stakeholders' feedback, the TD and the FB operators have introduced special departures of the KMB routes 11A and 17A during major consultation hours to facilitate residents of the Chuk Yuen and Ho Man Tin areas to travel to KTH.
Based on current observations, patients' arrival times at the hospital are relatively concentrated. The existing one-way frequencies of the two routes, i.e. KMB routes 11A and 17A, since their introduction on October 5, 2026 have been broadly able to meet the passenger demand at the present stage. In addition, as the departure times and destinations of patients leaving the hospital may be relatively dispersed, passengers of KMB routes 11A and 17A may make use of connecting services to MTR stations (e.g. CTB routes 22S and 22M to Kai Tak Station and Sung Wong Toi Station, GMB route 86 to Kowloon Bay Station and GMB route 88A to Wong Tai Sin Station) for their return journeys to their destinations.
Residents of Kowloon Central may choose appropriate direct or interchange routes to KTH according to their place of residence. Taking Hung Hom as an example, passengers in the area of Valley Road and Wuhu Street may take Citybus route 20X or KMB route X6C for direct services to KTH; while passengers in the Hung Hom Bay and Hok Yuen areas may take KMB route 297 to the Zero Carbon Park in Kowloon Bay, and then walk to KTH via the aforementioned covered footbridge. As for passengers in the Lok Fu area, they may consider taking the MTR to Kai Tak Station and interchanging with Citybus route 22S to KTH. Mobility impaired persons may take the Rehabus service between Lok Fu Station and KTH.
The TD and the HA will continue to maintain close communication and closely monitor the overall development progress of the KTH project. As various services at KTH are progressively rolled out with an increasing out-patient service capacity, on-site surveys will be conducted to closely monitor changes in passenger demand on major transport routes and adjust the service schedules. The TD will also work with FB and GMB operators to enhance connecting public transport services to MTR stations in light of actual passenger travel patterns and demand.
(2) For out-patients who arrive at the hospital slightly later than the scheduled appointment time, the HA will adopt a flexible approach by rearranging their consultation within the same day as far as possible to ensure that they are able to receive appropriate treatment without the need for rescheduling.
(3) As a transitional arrangement, the HA staff will call all patients who need to be transferred from QEH to KTH for follow-up consultations to ensure that they are informed of the latest consultation arrangements. Meanwhile, the HA will also send reminders to relevant patients by mail or via SMS messages.
To further remind KTH patients, the HA has introduced a new measure since late October. The HA will send a booking reminder message via HA Go three weeks and on the day before their follow-up consultations, reminding the patients of their consultations at KTH.
During the transitional period, QEH will make special one-off arrangements to provide services for patients who have a booking with KTH but have gone to QEH by mistake at QEH, and they need not travel back to KTH for consultation. During the period from October 5 to November 2, 2026, a total of six patients who had bookings with KTH mistakenly went to QEH. The HA arranged all these patients to receive services at QEH. The hospital will continue to closely monitor the actual situation and review the transitional arrangements.
For patients who have a booking with QEH but have gone to KTH by mistake, the KCC will make one-off arrangements. Based on the actual circumstances, patients will be arranged to receive services at KTH or QEH as scheduled.
The HA will continue to brief relevant stakeholders and the general public on the detailed arrangements for the commissioning of KTH through various channels in a proactive manner. In the past year (from November 2025 to October 2026), the KCC organised a total of 69 community outreach activities including visits, community talks, workshops, information sessions and promotional booths, in collaboration with community partners such as the Home Affairs Department, District Council members, District Services and Community Care Teams, ethnic minority groups and advocacy groups for rehabilitation services. The HA has also added information regarding service transfer arrangements of KTH to HA Go and KTH's webpage.
Ends/Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Issued at HKT 15:00
Issued at HKT 15:00
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