Accreditation of first public hospital under China’s International Hospital Accreditation Standards (2021 Version) (with photo)
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for the Hospital Authority (HA) today (December 8) announced that the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital (PYNEH) has been successfully accredited under the China's International Hospital Accreditation Standards (2021 Version) (the Standards), becoming the first public hospital in Hong Kong to obtain such accreditation.
In line with the policy direction regarding hospital accreditation put forward in the Chief Executive's Policy Address, PYNEH and the Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) had implemented the hospital accreditation programme by adopting the Standards earlier. This Standards is the first internationally recognised hospital accreditation standards of our country, covering hospital functions, management, patient safety, medical services and quality of healthcare, etc.
The Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko, said, "The accreditation of PYNEH under the national hospital accreditation standards serves as a strong boost to HA's ongoing efforts to enhance quality and safety of public hospitals. The HA will continue to co-ordinate more public hospitals' participation in accreditation, ensuring public healthcare services on par with international standards as well as facilitating the national hospital accreditation standards to go global. We especially thank hospital staff for their full co-operation in the accreditation process and their collective effort in enhancing hospital service quality."
Dr Ko added that the HA would carefully develop implementation timelines for hospital accreditation across public hospitals, considering frontline workload and ensuring clinical work remain unaffected. The HA will strengthen communication with staff and provide appropriate support, while the HA Head Office (HAHO) has strengthened central co-ordination and made optimal use of information technology to streamline work processes, so as to assist public hospitals in getting well-prepared for accreditation.
The Shenzhen Hospital Accreditation Research Center (Center) sent experts to conduct on-site accreditation surveys at PYNEH earlier. The Center commended the management and staff of PYNEH for their commitment to quality and patient safety. It also praised the hospital's robust risk and quality management systems, acknowledged the hospital’s efforts in establishing and maintaining a good system and confirmed that the hospital has met the accreditation criteria.
The Hospital Chief Executive of PYNEH, Dr Loletta So, expressed gratitude for the support of the Health Bureau and the HAHO. She said, "This accreditation reaffirms PYNEH’s sound management system and demonstrates that our service levels and healthcare quality meet international standards while aligning with national systems, which is an important foundation for the continuous enhancement of the quality of healthcare services. The hospital accreditation programme provides us an opportunity for continuous improvement across different areas. During the accreditation process, we engaged in candid exchanges with mainland experts, learning from each other to enhance our services."
Dr So noted that during the accreditation process, it was acknowledged that PYNEH has started to develop relevant projects on single-disease and clinical pathways and has established comprehensive treatment guidelines to enhance healthcare quality and ensure more efficient, professional patient care. The hospital has implemented a quality and safety management system at both hospital and departmental levels and strengthened emergency management in the hospital. PYNEH will continue exploring new development directions, including adopting advanced technologies, enhancing multi-disciplinary collaboration and strengthening professional training to further improve healthcare service quality, and provide saferand more effective medical experiences for patients.
Dr So also thanked the hospital team for their dedication to the accreditation process over the past year, highlighting it as an achievement of collective effort. PYNEH will continue to uphold the spirit of continuous improvement.
Apart from the PYNEH, PWH has also gone through the on-site accreditation surveys with official result pending. The HA is also planning to further extend the hospital accreditation programme to Queen Mary Hospital, United Christian Hospital, and Tuen Mun Hospital in 2025-26 to enhance the quality and service standards of public hospitals.
