Expert advice: Two groups will be formed under the SARS Expert Committee to look at hospital management and public health issues.

Two groups will be formed under the 11-member SARS Expert Committee to look at hospital management and public health issues, Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Yeoh Eng-kiong said.

Sir Cyril Chantler, Chairman of the Board of the UK's Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, has been appointed as chairperson of the group on hospital management and administration.

Professor Sian Griffiths, President of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of the UK's Royal Colleges of Physicians, will head up the group on public health.

The two experts will oversee information gathering and fact-finding of related issues of their respective groups and lead discussions, Dr Yeoh said .

Dr Yeoh stressed that there is an urgency to enhance the capability and preparedness of our healthcare system in the prevention and management of infectious diseases.

"The primary task of the Expert Committee is to identify lessons to be learned and make recommendations on improvement measures, such as the type of isolation facilities, to our healthcare system so that we will be better prepared for any resurgence of SARS in winter," he said.

Work of the SARS Expert Committee is in good progress, he said. A videoconference was arranged last night to discuss the work of the committee in preparation for upcoming meetings.

The committee will hold a series of meetings in Hong Kong. The first will be the hospital management group meeting June 26-28.

The group will examine wide-ranging issues including infection-control facilities and measures for healthcare workers and patients, isolation facilities, data collection and management in hospitals.

The public health group will hold a meeting in early July, while the committee's plenary session is likely to be held in mid-August.

Committee members will also hold meetings and interviews with healthcare groups and organisations including Hospital Authority board members, frontline health and medical workers as well as legislators to seek information on areas related to their work.

The committee is inviting submissions from the public to provide information on the SARS incident and on issues relevant to the terms of reference of the committee, particularly on areas of improvement to the healthcare system, the prevention and management of infectious diseases, and lessons to be learned to better prepare our system for any future outbreaks. The deadline for submissions is June 30.