The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, visited the School of Nursing of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the School of Health Sciences of the Caritas Institute of Higher Education today (March 18) to learn about the hotline centres set up to support the Hospital Authority (HA) in receiving and handling enquiries from COVID-19 patients.
Professor Chan said, "Since the outbreak of the fifth wave of the epidemic, Hong Kong's healthcare system has been facing unprecedented challenges. The number of confirmed cases remains high, posing tremendous pressure on the public healthcare system. I am extremely grateful to the school staff and students of the nursing schools of tertiary institutions for setting up hotline centres within a short period of time to assist the HA in receiving and handling patients' enquiries, joining different sectors of the community in the fight against the epidemic."
Professor Chan also visited the HA's Patient Support Call Centre at Tang Shiu Kin Hospital and the hotline centres (hotline: 1836 115) at Kowloon Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital yesterday (March 17) to inspect the daily operation of these centres and the implementation of the newly launched Isolation Care Monitoring System. In addition, she visited the telemedicine support services offered by private doctors (Tele-health Hub) and a hotline centre (hotline: 1834 511) offering consultation services by Chinese medicine practitioners at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
"I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the colleagues in the HA, nursing students from various institutions, private doctors and Chinese medicine practitioners who are serving the public at these hotline centres. They have fully demonstrated the unity of the medical and health sectors in fighting the epidemic. Being the guardians of Hong Kong's public health and the well-being of our citizens, all healthcare professionals in Hong Kong have an obligatory duty to stand at the forefront of the fight against the epidemic to safeguard our people's health and save lives."
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