The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London (London ETO) and the Denmark-Hong Kong Trade Association co-hosted a Year of the Dragon reception in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 12 (Copenhagen time).
 
     In his welcome speech, the Director-General of the London ETO, Mr Gilford Law, shared with the Danish community the latest updates of Hong Kong, including key initiatives announced in the 2024-25 Budget of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG), and highlighted Hong Kong's advantages as an international talent hub.
 
     "In recent years, the HKSARG has rolled out a number of measures, including the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS), to trawl for talent. In the past year or so, more than 140 000 applications have been approved under various talent admission schemes. About 100 000 of them have already arrived in Hong Kong. With three universities in Denmark covered under the TTPS, we welcome our Danish friends to consider a career in Hong Kong," he said.
 
     The reception was well attended by around 90 guests, including representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, diplomatic envoys, representatives from the local business, academic and cultural sectors.

          

     The Labour Department (LD) is highly concerned about a fatal work accident that happened at a timber warehouse in Sheung Shui this afternoon (March 14), in which a truck driver was struck by a bundle of timbers that fell from the truck during an unloading operation of timbers. He was certified dead at the scene. The LD is saddened by the death of the worker and expresses its deepest sympathy to his family.

     The LD's spokesman said, "We commenced an immediate on-site investigation as soon as we were notified of the accident and issued suspension notices to the proprietor and the employer concerned, suspending the loading/unloading of timbers onto/from the truck. The proprietor and the employer cannot resume the work process until the LD is satisfied that measures to abate the relevant risks have been taken."

     The spokesman added, "We will complete the investigation as soon as possible to identify the cause of the accident, ascertain the liability of the duty holders and recommend improvement measures. We will take actions pursuant to the law if there is any violation of the work safety legislation."

     The general duty provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance require employers to provide safe working environments, plant and systems of work for their employees. Those who contravene the relevant provisions are liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for two years on conviction on indictment; or $3 million and imprisonment for six months on summary conviction.

     In regard to today's accident, the LD will issue a Work Safety Alert through its website and by email, giving a brief account of the accident concerned to duty holders, workers' unions, professional bodies of safety practitioners and others, and reminding the industry of the importance of following safety precautionary measures to prevent a recurrence of similar accidents.

     The LD will also remind the employer concerned of the liability for employees' compensation under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, assist family members of the deceased to claim employees' compensation and closely follow up on the case. For those with financial difficulties, the LD will assist them to apply for appropriate emergency funds. Subject to the needs and wishes of family members of the deceased, the LD will also liaise with the Social Welfare Department for financial or other assistance.

     For the sake of securing the safety and health of employees at work, the LD appeals to employers to provide plant and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health. Employees should co-operate with their employers, adopt all safety measures and use personal protective equipment provided properly to avoid endangering their own work safety and that of other workers.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
     
     The Hospital Authority (HA) announced today (March 14) that the Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine (ICWM) services have been further expanded to 26 public hospitals under the seven clusters in the first quarter of 2024 and adding up the hospital sites from eight to 53 (at the Annex). Such expansion is in line with the policy direction set forth in the Policy Address that to promote long-term development of Chinese medicine (CM) and enhance ICWM services in providing services to patients under the designated disease areas (including stroke care, musculoskeletal pain management, cancer palliative care and cancer care pilot programme).
      
     The Chief Manager (Chinese Medicine) of the HA, Ms Rowena Wong, stated, "Since 2014, the HA has been implementing the ICWM pilot programme by phases with a view to gather relevant operational experience. With the staunch support of the Government, the ICWM services have gained substantial results and reaching its periodical milestone. The ICWM services have been regularised since early last year and further extended to cover more hospital sites and disease areas, offering patients additional treatment options for leveraging the advantages of CM and ICWM. The HA will continue to explore the feasibility of extending the ICWM services to cover more disease areas, such as elderly degenerative diseases and respiratory diseases, which would benefit to a greater number of patients."
      
     The Chief of Service of the Department of Medicine of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Dr Fong Wing-chi, said, "Stroke patients face many challenges on their treatment and recovery journey. The Western medicine medical team welcomes the participation of CM practitioners in jointly assessing and providing treatment for the patients, believing that such arrangement will offer help to suitable patients participating in the programme. Western medicine and CM experts collaborate in formulating clinical treatment plans and have regular case discussions. With close collaboration, both medical teams will have more experiences in ICWM consultations. With the experience accumulated, it certainly will benefit the future development of the ICWM services in terms of its application and coverage of disease areas."
      
     The Senior CM practitioner at the Pok Oi Hospital-Hong Kong Baptist University Chinese Medicine Clinic cum Training and Research Centre (Yau Tsim Mong District), Mr Yau Kin-chung, said that traditional CM services in Hong Kong have primarily been outpatient-based. The ICWM model developed by the HA provides opportunities for authorised participating CM practitioners to review patients' clinical data and reports. Such arrangement helps the CM practitioners obtain a comprehensive understanding of the patients' conditions in which facilitating their formulation of the clinical treatment plans. Joint management of patients by the two medical teams under ICWM services can also promote multi-disciplinary knowledge exchanges and drive the service development, enabling patients to receive more comprehensive treatment and care.
      
     The ICWM services target eligible individuals aged 18 and above, who have been assessed by both the Western Medicine and CM teams at designated public hospital sites and considered suitable with fulfilling the programme criteria. Participation is voluntary, and the participation does not affect patients' original treatment plans at the hospitals. With the funding support by the Government, patients receiving this service only need to pay a fee of $120 for each attendance of ICWM inpatient services (not including general fees for public hospital services), while Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients will be fully waived for the service fees under the programme.
      
     The HA expresses gratitude to the Government for the steadfast support on the development of ICWM services, and will dedicatedly develop an evidence-based and sustainable ICWM model in Hong Kong. In future, the HA will make effort to explore opportunities for further development of ICWM, leveraging the professional advantages of both sides to enhance treatment effectiveness so as to provide patients with more appropriate medical services. The HA will continue to devote its efforts in aligning with the national policy initiatives in promoting the high-quality development of CM in Hong Kong on all fronts with an aim to achieve the internationalisation of ICWM experience. 

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (March 14) chaired the fifth meeting of the fifth-term Commission on Poverty (CoP) and led members to visit a school participating in the School-based After School Care Service Scheme to observe its operations.

     At the meeting, the CoP approved funding under the Community Care Fund for launching three additional three-year Community Living Room projects, in To Kwa Wan, Hung Hom and Nam Cheong respectively, under the Pilot Programme on Community Living Room. They are expected to commence operations gradually within 2024 to provide focused support for subdivided unit (SDU) households (particularly SDU families with children) by providing additional living space and expanding their interpersonal networks, thereby enhancing their living standard and sense of belonging to the community.

     As a project of targeted poverty alleviation, the Pilot Programme on Community Living Room is led by the Government, with the venues provided by the business sector and operations conducted by social welfare organisations. The CoP approved funding under the Community Care Fund in 2023 for launching a Community Living Room in Sham Shui Po for three years as the first project under the Pilot Programme. Since its operation at the end of 2023, the Community Living Room has received very positive responses. The Government will continue to encourage the business sector to participate in the Pilot Programme for the launch of more Community Living Rooms in districts clustered with SDU households to benefit more such households.

     After the meeting, Mr Chan and members of the CoP visited Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial Primary School to observe the implementation of the School-based After School Care Service Scheme, another project of targeted poverty alleviation. They were first briefed by the Principal, Ms Chu Wai-man, and the Director of the Hong Kong Children and Youth Services (the operator), Ms Joyce Lee, on the different needs of students participating in the Scheme, including those with special educational needs and those from single-parent families, as well as the services catering for them.

     Afterwards, Mr Chan and members of the CoP talked to some participating students and their parents to understand how students finished their homework and revision, and participated in extracurricular activities, under the guidance of instructors before leaving school. They were pleased to learn that the Scheme helped parents alleviate their stress arising from taking care of their children, and enabled them to join the labour market and enjoy more family time with their children when at home. Accompanied by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, and other government officials, Mr Chan also joined students in group games and encouraged them to enhance their social skills and relieve stress while studying.

     The School-based After School Care Service Scheme is led by the Government, with venues provided by schools and services rendered by non-governmental organisations. It provides targeted support for underprivileged families (especially single-parent families) and is implemented in primary schools from those districts clustered with such target students. As at February 2024, more than 50 primary schools in Kowloon City, Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, Kwun Tong, Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long have joined the Scheme, providing a total of about 3 000 service places.

     Mr Chan said that the Government, jointly with the CoP, would continue to steadfastly unite the forces of the Government, the business sector and the community in taking forward projects of targeted poverty alleviation to better help such target groups as SDU households and single-parent households, thereby building a more caring and inclusive society.

                

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (March 14) investigating a case of severe paediatric enterovirus (EV) infection, and again urged the public and institutions to maintain strict hand, personal and environmental hygiene.
 
     The case involves a 7-year-old boy with good past health. He had developed fever, vomiting, headache and abdominal pain since March 11. He was taken to the Accident and Emergency Department of Princess Margaret Hospital for medical attention on March 13 and was admitted for management on the same day. The patient is now in a stable condition.
 
     A laboratory test of his cerebrospinal fluid specimen was positive for EV. The clinical diagnosis was meningitis.
 
     Initial enquiries by the CHP revealed that the patient had no travel history during the incubation period. His home contacts are currently asymptomatic. The CHP's investigations are ongoing.
 
     A spokesman for the CHP said that as EV infection is transmitted by direct contact with nose and throat discharges, the public should be vigilant and observe the following preventive measures:
 

• Wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet and changing diapers;
• Cover the mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing;
• Maintain good ventilation; and
• Thoroughly clean toys or appliances which are contaminated by nasal or oral secretions.

 
     Children suffering from EV infection should stay at home and avoid contact with other children until they have recovered.
 
     The public may visit the CHP's page on hand, foot and mouth disease and EV71 infection for more information.