The Food and Health Bureau (FHB) announced today (March 31) that the operation service contracts for the Southern District Health Centre (DHC) and Yuen Long DHC have been awarded through open tenders to the Aberdeen Kai-fong Welfare Association Limited and the Pok Oi Hospital respectively. The contract sums of the Southern and Yuen Long DHCs are $257.78 million and $321.56 million respectively.
The two operators are also required to set up satellite centres in their respective districts within the first year of operation. The core centres and the satellite centres will open 10 hours daily for six days a week. Apart from the major operating team, the operators are required to recruit and develop a multi-disciplinary network of medical and healthcare practitioners (including doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and Chinese medicine practitioners) practising in their respective districts or nearby areas. This network of health professionals aims to provide multiple service channels and points, with a view to offering medical and healthcare consultations and/or assessments to the DHC members upon referral, to complement the operations of the DHCs. The two DHCs are also responsible for co-ordinating with other social welfare and healthcare service partners in the community to make referrals for members of the public in need of the services. DHC operators (including its staff) and their subcontractor(s) (if any) will have to follow Vaccine Pass arrangement during the DHC operation.
The core centre of the Southern DHC will be located at Vertical SQ in Wong Chuk Hang, and that of the Yuen Long DHC will be located at One Sky Mall in Tin Shui Wai, each with a total floor area of about 1 000 square metres. The DHCs will provide various primary healthcare services including health promotion, health assessment, chronic disease management and community rehabilitation. The Southern and Yuen Long DHC operators are expected to commence a three-year operation of the DHCs within 2022.
The Government is progressively setting up DHCs and DHC Expresses in all 18 districts in a bid to establish a prevention-centred primary healthcare system in Hong Kong. The first DHC was established in Kwai Tsing District in September 2019, and the second DHC in Shum Shui Po District also commenced service in June last year. It is expected that the Tuen Mun and Wong Tai Sin DHCs will commence operation in May and June this year respectively. In addition, 11 DHC Expresses across the city have already commenced operation progressively starting from September 2021.
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