The Health Bureau said today that the Hospital Authority (HA) has provided free healthcare services to around 1,900 residents affected by November’s fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.

Until December 31 of this year, all individuals injured in the fire and admitted to public hospitals are entitled to receive full fee waivers for all necessary healthcare services throughout the entire process of their treatment and rehabilitation. The HA had provided such services to around 1,900 affected residents as of Tuesday.

District Health Centres/District Health Centre Expresses across all of the city’s 18 districts have set up hotlines to provide personalised case management services to affected residents. As of Tuesday, the hotlines had received 363 enquiries.

Regarding mental health services, the bureau said that from the time of the Tai Po blaze to January 20, the 18111 Mental Health Support Hotline had received over 17,000 calls, around 750 of which were related to the fire. An associated WhatsApp service has handled over 800 messages, with about 50 of these concerning the fire.

The HA’s 24-hour Mental Health Direct hotline had received 102 calls related to the blaze, with 40 of these coming from affected citizens.

As of Tuesday, 71 of the 79 patients admitted to HA hospitals following the Tai Po fire had recovered and been discharged, while the remaining eight were in a stable condition, the bureau added.