There is no evidence showing any abuse of the emergency evacuation services provided by the Government Flying Service.

This was the message from Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee responding to a question from Ng Leung-sing in the Legislative Council today.

Mr Lee said that in the past two years GFS has participated in 4,839 search and rescue and casualty evacuation operations.

The Security Bureau will continue to monitor the situation to safeguard against any possible misuse of public resources.

He said the Hospital Authority has issued an Operations Circular to all concerned staff on the emergency transfer of patients, which are based on a set of interdepartmental procedures.

All search and rescue operations carried out by GFS are in response to requests from the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, the Police Headquarters Command & Control Centre, Fire Services Communication Centre and Civil Aviation Department.

As for casualty evacuations, there are internal guidelines governing the use of helicopters for such purpose. These have been worked out after consultation amongst relevant bureaux and departments, and will be updated and reviewed regularly to meet operational needs.