Secretary for Health meets Southern Medical University delegation (with photos)

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with a delegation led by the Secretary of the Party Committee of Southern Medical University, Mr Zhang Yurun, today (August 6) to exchange views on medical co-operation between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
 
     At the meeting, Professor Lo introduced to the delegation the policy initiatives for cross-boundary medical collaboration, including the progress of the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme and the efforts in redoubling the training and exchange of healthcare professionals from the two places.
 
     Professor Lo said, "The HKSAR Government attaches great importance to cross-boundary medical collaboration. In his 2023 Policy Address, the Chief Executive adopted 'Cross-boundary Medical Collaboration' for the first time as one of the subtitles with multiple specific measures proposed, including the launch of the Pilot Scheme this year to offer eligible Hong Kong elderly persons additional options of service points for using the Elderly Health Care Vouchers (EHCVs) in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The number of GBA service points where eligible Hong Kong elderly persons can use the EHCVs will be significantly increased to seven from August 14 onwards to cover medical institutions providing integrated or dental services in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhongshan, marking a great leap forward for medical co-operation in the GBA.

     "Separately, the HKSAR Government introduced amendments to the Medical Registration Ordinance, the Dentists Registration Ordinance and the Nurses Registration Ordinance successively in recent years to create new pathways for admitting qualified non-locally trained doctors, dentists and nurses, with a view to addressing the shortage of local healthcare professionals as well as fostering exchange and collaboration with healthcare professionals from other regions at the same time. Furthermore, building on the successful experience of the first phase of the Hospital Authority Healthcare Talents Visiting Programme, we are also actively strengthening the two-way training and exchange of healthcare talent of Hong Kong and the Mainland. With the support of the Health Commission of Guangdong Province, a new batch of over 100 healthcare personnel from different cities in Guangdong Province have been engaging in different forms of exchange in the public hospitals in Hong Kong.

     "Under the principle of complementarity and mutual benefits and on the premise of benefitting the healthcare development of both the Mainland and Hong Kong, the HKSAR Government has been reinforcing co-operation on healthcare service developments with various counterparts on the Mainland to enhance healthcare quality. Looking ahead, we will remain committed to fostering cross-boundary medical co-operation to propel the important national strategy of 'Healthy China' through concerted efforts."

     The Director of Cluster Services of the Hospital Authority, Dr Simon Tang, and representatives of the Health Bureau also attended the meeting today.