Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau today led a delegation on a three-day visit to Beijing to meet Mainland officials, introducing them to the latest developments of various healthcare policies in Hong Kong.

Prof Lo met officials of the National Health Commission, the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) and the Chinese Medical Association.

He introduced to them the latest health developments with a view to pursuing deeper healthcare exchanges with the Mainland and realising the implementation of various initiatives announced in the recent Policy Address in relation to collaboration with the Mainland.

During a morning meeting with the commission's Office of Hong Kong, Macao & Taiwan Affairs Deputy Director General He Shaohua, Prof Lo introduced the 10 initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of public healthcare services in Hong Kong and transforming healthcare innovations into industry development.

The 10 initiatives put forward by the Chief Executive in the Policy Address last month include the development of Hong Kong into a health and medical innovation hub, cross-boundary medical collaboration, healthcare manpower, digital healthcare records, oral health, primary healthcare, mental health, Chinese medicine development, enhancement to public healthcare services and combating communicable diseases.

Prof Lo stressed that the Health Bureau leads the overall healthcare system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, formulates policies and allocates resources, with the safeguarding and promotion of public health at the top of its priority list.

“The Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to fully leverage the city's medical strengths in developing Hong Kong into a health and medical innovation hub and proactively boosting medical innovation and collaboration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, so as to rally concerted efforts to build a 'Healthy Hong Kong' for integration into the nation's strategic planning of 'Healthy China', thereby making contributions to the development of the bay area and that of the whole nation,” he added.

During his visit to the GACC and the meeting with its CPC Committee Member and Head of Guangdong Sub-Administration Li Kuiwen, Prof Lo introduced the recommendation to discuss with other bay area cities the provision of a cross-boundary ambulance service, as raised in the Policy Address.

When discussing organ donation, Prof Lo mentioned the case of a Hong Kong baby who was the first to receive a heart donated gratis across the boundary from a brain-dead Mainland child last year. The health chief thanked the GACC and relevant Mainland authorities for their strong support and co-ordination in saving a life with collective efforts.

At a meeting with Chinese Medical Association President Zhao Yupei, Prof Lo and the delegation discussed professional exchanges among healthcare personnel from the Mainland and Hong Kong.

The health chief said the Hong Kong SAR Government is pressing ahead actively with healthcare exchanges and co-operation along various fronts between the Mainland and Hong Kong, with a view to exploring a refined co-ordination mechanism on cross-boundary medical services. 

He pointed out that the establishment of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Medical Specialist Training Centre in the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital in 2019 was a fruitful outcome of seamless co-operation between the two places.

Riding on the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine’s specialist training model and experience, and taking into account the practical situation on the Mainland, the centre built a standardised specialist training framework which is on par with international practices and recognised by the Mainland.

Prof Lo also visited Beijing Tiantan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University this morning, to learn about the hospital's latest moves in fostering smart hospital development.

He shared with the hospital's healthcare personnel details of the Hong Kong SAR Government's five-year plan in rolling out eHealth+ which was set out in the Policy Address. The plan will transform the Electronic Health Record Sharing System into a comprehensive healthcare information infrastructure.