Acting CE meets ASEAN-China Joint Cooperation Committee delegation
The Acting Chief Executive, Mr Paul Lam, SC, today (April 24) met with members of avisiting ASEAN-China Joint Cooperation Committee delegation to exchange views on deepening co-operation between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, as well as discuss issues of mutual concern.
Mr Lam welcomed the delegation's visit to Hong Kong and expressed his gratitude for the thoughtful arrangements made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) for fostering exchanges and co-operation between Hong Kong and ASEAN member states.
Noting that Hong Kong has maintained close trade and economic ties with ASEAN, Mr Lam said that ASEAN has long been Hong Kong's second-largest trading partner. Last month, the HKSAR Government launched the Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Invited Persons to promote economic and trade exchanges and cultural co-operation between Hong Kong and ASEAN by providing more convenient immigration arrangements for invited persons from ASEAN countries, furthering deepening ties between Hong Kong and ASEAN.
During the meeting, Mr Lam introduced the advantages and development opportunities of Hong Kong to the delegation members. He said that Hong Kong has the distinctive advantage of enjoying the strong support of the motherland while being closely connected to the world under the "one country, two systems" principle, and has long played the important role of a "super connector" and "super value-adder". As the only common law jurisdiction in China, Hong Konghas the unique advantage of having a well-established legal system alongside top-tier legal and dispute resolution services. Mr Lam encouraged enterprises from ASEAN member states to leverage Hong Kong as a platform to explore overseas and Mainland markets through its professional services, thereby achieving mutual benefits.
Mr Lam also thanked ASEAN member states for their continued support for Hong Kong's accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. He said that he looks forward to strengthening collaborations with various places to help businesses explore more opportunities.
The delegation is visiting Hong Kong April 23 and 24, during which they will meet with Principal Officials of the HKSAR Government, the Legislative Council President, and representatives of other major institutions. The delegation will also visit Super Terminal 1and the Legislative Council to learn about the latest developments in Hong Kong.
Acting CE meets ASEAN-China Joint Cooperation Committee delegation Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
DH responds to media enquiries on air-conditioning interruption in private hospital
In response to media enquiries regarding the air-conditioning interruption that occurred at St. Teresa's Hospital in July 2024 for about an hour, the Department of Health (DH) today (May 14) gave the following response:
Regulatory regime
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The DH regulates licensed private hospitals in accordance with the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Cap. 633) (the Ordinance). The Code of Practice for Private Hospitals (the CoP) issued by the Director of Health in accordance with the Ordinance sets forth licensing and operating standards for private hospitals, including the relevant requirements for hospital facilities and equipment.
The CoP stipulates that hospital installations and equipment must be kept in good operational order and requires hospitals to have contingency plans for emergencies (such as fire and the cessation of water or electricity supply). It also sets out that healthcare engineering systems (including electrical installations, specialised ventilation systems and medical gas supplies) must be properly maintained to meet the service need and ensure patient safety. Reportable events for private hospitals are also set out in the CoP.
The DH regularly reviews and updates regulatory standards for private healthcare facilities, together with the experts of the Advisory Committee for Regulatory Standards for Private Healthcare Facilities in accordance with the established mechanism of the Advisory Committee. The DH will also continue to review the CoP in accordance with the mechanism in order to protect the interest of the public.
Investigation work
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Regarding the incident at St. Teresa's Hospital, the DH was notified by a doctor on September 2, 2024, about an air-conditioning interruption in the operating theatres on the second floor of the hospital concerned in the evening of July 31, 2024, which lasted approximately one hour.
Although air-conditioning interruption is not a reportable event of private hospitals, the DH considered that the incident might have potential patient safety concerns and therefore promptly initiated an investigation on the same day (September 2, 2024) the notification was received. The DH sent staff to conduct an inspection at the hospital concerned, checked relevant documents, evaluated the effectiveness of its contingency measures, assessed the environmental condition of the operating theatres during the interruption and followed up on the remedial actions.
According to the investigation, the incident involved a malfunction of the air-conditioning system used to regulate the room temperature which lasted for about one hour. During which, 10 surgeries were performed in various operating theatres. The hospital explained that dehumidifiers were immediately deployed in the operating theatres where higher risk surgeries were being performed, including the one where the doctor was performing an operation. According to the hospital and the nurses on site, the severity of condensation in the operating theatre did not result in water dripping onto the surgical site of patients. The ventilation system used for infection control in the operating theatres (including air filtration equipment, hourly air change rate and a positive pressure environment) was operating normally. Apart from immediately responding to the incident, the hospital has also worked with its contractor to identify the cause of the incident and take measures to prevent recurrence of similar incidents.
In addition, the hospital conducted prompt follow-up by conducting air sampling of the operating theatres and surveillance on conditions of patients who underwent surgeries during the affected period for infection, with no abnormality detected. Based on the available evidence gathered, the DH considered that there was insufficient evidence to show that the hospital has breached the requirements of the Ordinance or the CoP.
Complaint handling
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The Ordinance also provides for a complaints handling mechanism against private healthcare facilities, which includes the establishment of the statutory Committee on Complaints Against Private Healthcare Facilities (Complaints Committee), with the DH serving as the Secretariat, to handle complaints lodged by patients against licensed private healthcare facilities (including private hospitals).
There were media enquiries on whether the DH had received any complaints from patients. According to the DH's existing records, the DH received a call on September 12, 2024, from a member of the public who enquired about the complaint procedure against private healthcare facilities, and mentioned the air-conditioning system of St. Teresa's Hospital was not functioning properly when underwent surgeries. The Secretariat explained to the enquirer the function of the Complaints Committee and statutory procedures of lodging a complaint promptly. The Secretariat on the following day (September 13, 2024) sent information on the complaint procedures with complaint form and statutory declaration form to the email address provided by the person as requested. The enquirer confirmed receipt of the concerned information and forms by email but since then, the Complaints Committee has not received any complaint from the concerned enquirer in relation to this incident.
The DH has completed investigation based on all available information, but will continue to closely monitor licensed private healthcare facilities. If there is new and concrete evidence, the DH will take appropriate actions as necessary to safeguard patient safety.
