Public invited to Hospital Authority Board Meeting
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
Members of the public are invited to attend the Hospital Authority (HA) Board Meeting to be held on September 23 (Monday) at 3.30pm.
The HA Board Meeting has been open to members of the public since 1998 to demonstrate the continuous effort of the Authority to enhance its transparency and public accountability. The HA Board holds meetings at regular intervals to discuss major health policy issues that have impacts on the public. Through these open meetings, the community is able to understand more about the role and functions of the HA Board as well as the operation and services of the HA and its hospitals.
The HA Board will discuss the following agenda items in the coming meeting:
Hospital Authority Annual Report for 2023-24;
Annual Report on Public Appreciation, Feedback and Complaints Management 2023-24;
Update on Genetic and Genomic Service Development in Hospital Authority;
Validation of the Hospital Authority for Stage 7 of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM);
Progress Report on Strategic Priorities; and
Cluster Presentation Programme – Kowloon Central Cluster – Comprehensive Heart Failure Programme - from Acute to Chronic Management.
(Note: EMRAM is a framework designed to measure the maturity of the Electronic Medical Records workflows in hospital settings.)
The meeting agenda and papers will be made available to the public at the meeting. Members of the public are reminded that they can attend the Board Meeting only as observers and will not be participating in the meeting discussions.
Members of the public who are interested in attending the coming Board Meeting have to make an advance booking by contacting the Secretariat of the HA Board at 2300 6797 before September 23 noon. To facilitate booking arrangements, members of the public are advised to provide their names and contact telephone numbers. In view of the limited seating available in the public gallery of the meeting venue, seating will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
LD reminds employers and employees to take heat stroke preventive measures in times of Heat Stress at Work Warning
As the Heat Stress at Work Warning is now in effect, the Labour Department (LD) reminds employers and employees to take appropriate measures during the effective period of the warning to prevent heat stroke when working in hot weather or hot environments.
Employees who work outdoors or in non-air-conditioned indoor environments face high levels of heat stress and are at a relatively higher risk of heat stroke. Employers should assess the risk factors of heat stress for employees at work and, based on the identified risk factors, take necessary preventive and control measures, including rescheduling work periods, setting up shading covers, providing ventilation and heat dissipation equipment, and reminding employees to replenish water and rest in a timely manner.
The Heat Stress at Work Warning is formulated by the LD based on the Hong Kong Heat Index. There are three levels of the warning: Amber, Red and Black, which help employers and employees better understand the level of heat stress while working outdoors or indoors without air-conditioning systems.
A spokesman for the LD said that when the department issues the Heat Stress at Work Warning, employers must refer to the criteria and recommendations provided in the "Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work" to conduct risk assessments, according to the workloads and other relevant heat stress risk factors, for employees who work outdoors or in non-air-conditioned indoor workplaces. Appropriate rest breaks should be arranged every hour, as far as reasonably practicable, based on various levels of the Heat Stress at Work Warning, to reduce employees' risk of heat stroke.
Employees must also follow instructions to rest on time. Whenever there are any symptoms of heat-related illnesses, such as headache, dizziness, thirst, and nausea, they should rest in a cool and shady place, drink water, and inform employers/supervisors to take appropriate action immediately.
The LD issued the "Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work", detailing the various risk factors that should be considered when conducting heat stress risk assessments and recommending corresponding control measures for identified risk factors for employers' and employees' reference. For the Heat Stress at Work Warning and related guidelines, please refer to the department's thematic webpage: www.labour.gov.hk/eng/news/prevention_of_heat_stroke_at_work.htm.
