The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesperson for North District Hospital (NDH) made the following announcement today (March 13) regarding an incident of suspected loss of patient data:

     NDH received a report from a house officer yesterday evening (March 12) that a list containing the personal information of 34 inpatients including names, identity card numbers, ages, sex, and involved specialties had been lost. The list does not involve any other clinical data.

     A preliminary investigation showed that the house officer printed a list with patients' information on the morning of March 8 and brought it along to facilitate clinical duties. He was then assigned to assist in escorting a critically ill patient to Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) for further management and returned to NDH by taxi. The patient list was suspected to be lost afterwards.

     The house officer subsequently informed the staff in PWH to assist in searching for the list. As of March 12, the patient list could not be located within the hospital premises and is suspected to have been lost during the taxi journey. NDH is very concerned about the incident and conducted a thorough search again within the relevant hospital premises after receiving the report last evening, but the search was in vain. The hospital has reported the incident to the Police, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, and the Hospital Authority Head Office via the Advance Incident Reporting System.

     All staff have been reminded to properly keep and handle patients' records. A patient list with personal information should not be brought outside the hospital. NDH has notified the patients and their families concerned to express their apologies and explain the incident. Clinical services have not been affected.

     â€‹The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, led a delegation and started a two-day visit to Guangzhou and Dongguan today (March 13) to meet health officials of Guangdong Province and Dongguan city, with a view to deepening exchanges and co-operation between Hong Kong and Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) on various health-related areas.

     The delegation today first met with Deputy Director General of the Health Commission of Guangdong Province (GDHC) Mr Huang Fei to discuss a number of cross-boundary healthcare services, including the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme (Pilot Scheme) and a direct cross-boundary ambulance service.

     Professor Lo said, "I would like to express my gratitude to the GDHC for its valuable advice in the process of pressing ahead with the Pilot Scheme, ranging from the selection of high-quality medical institutions to relevant Mainland laws and regulations which are conducive to the future monitoring of areas concerning healthcare quality and fee levels.

     "The Department of Health (DH) is working with various pilot medical institutions on follow-up arrangements such as reimbursement for claims for Elderly Health Care Vouchers (EHCVs) and system configurations. Last week, the DH conducted training sessions and briefings on the practical operations for staff of pilot medical institutions, and arranged for staff of the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital to share their relevant experiences in running the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme, so as to ensure that the future operation of the Pilot Scheme will go on smoothly.

     "The GBA development is a national strategy personally devised, planned and driven by President Xi Jinping. In terms of healthcare development, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has all along been reinforcing co-operation with various cities in the GBA in order to optimise the policy initiatives for providing more convenience for Hong Kong citizens under the principles of 'complementarity and mutual benefits' and on the premise that the development of the Mainland healthcare system will be benefited without comprising the development of Hong Kong's local healthcare service," Professor Lo stressed.

     As for the provision of a direct cross-boundary ambulance service, Professor Lo said that following the Chief Executive's announcement in the last Policy Address on the discussion with Shenzhen and Macao on the provision of a cross-boundary ambulance service, the Health Bureau has been liaising with the relevant parties of the two places at full steam. The discussions are making good progress. Professor Lo said he hopes that the direct cross-boundary ambulance service can be launched as soon as possible so as to enable the direct point-to-point hospital transfer of inpatients with appropriate medical conditions.

     The delegation then visited the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University and the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. Last month, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University was included by the Health Bureau as one of the pilot medical institutions under the Pilot Scheme. Hong Kong elderly persons eligible for the EHCV will be able to use the voucher to pay for outpatient healthcare services they received at designated medical centres or medical service departments of the Hospital later this year.

     In addition, the Hospital Authority (HA) has earlier commenced discussions with the GDHC on the second batch of the exchange programme for doctors, including an ophthalmology pilot exchange programme under which outstanding ophthalmologists from the Zhongshan Ophthalmology Center of Sun Yat-sen University would come to Hong Kong for exchanges. Two ophthalmologists have already arrived in Hong Kong under the programme and commenced an exchange in March. The HA is actively following up with the GDHC on the exchange arrangements for the other ophthalmologist and doctors of different specialties.

     During the meeting with the President of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Professor Xiao Haipeng, Professor Lo also witnessed the signing of a co-operation agreement between the HA and the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University on enhancing training and exchanges of healthcare professionals.

     Professor Lo is very supportive of the exchange of healthcare talent between the HA and Mainland medical institutions. He said, "The HKSAR Government and the HA have been proactively exploring various collaboration models with relevant bodies to further advance the exchange and co-operation of healthcare professionals in the GBA, with a view to jointly enhancing the professional standards and development of clinical healthcare in the GBA. The HA is taking forward the second batch of exchange programmes with the GDHC. It is expected that over 100 healthcare personnel, covering a wider range of healthcare professions, will come to Hong Kong from various cities in Guangdong Province to participate in the exchange programmes."

     The delegation will visit Dongguan tomorrow (March 14) to meet with Dongguan Municipal Government and health officials and visit the Dongguan Tungwah Hospital.

     Members of the Hong Kong delegation include the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the DH, Dr Edwin Tsui; Deputy Secretary for Health Mr Eddie Lee; the Senior Advisor (Secretary for Health's Office), Dr Joe Fan; the Chairman of the HA, Mr Henry Fan; and the Deputising Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Simon Tang. During the absence of Professor Lo from Hong Kong, the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, is the Acting Secretary for Health.

            

     The Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Ms Louise Ho, today (March 13) met the Chief of the Office of Port of Entry and Exit of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, Mr Wang Gang, to exchange views on control point planning and construction enhancements in the Customs Headquarters Building.

     Ms Ho welcomed Mr Wang's visit to Hong Kong Customs with his delegation and chaired a meeting with the delegation of the Office of Port of Entry and Exit of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government. During the meeting, they discussed issues including the planning and development of control points and the development of smart control points. Noting that contact and connection between Hong Kong and Shenzhen has become increasingly frequent following the advancement in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), Ms Ho expressed hope to maintain close liaison, and strengthen communication and co-operation between the two places to further optimise the clearance environment and improve clearance facilitation measures.

     Hong Kong Customs will actively dovetail with related policies of the Government, and work closely with the Office of Port of Entry and Exit of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government and other relevant departments to explore ways to boost co-ordination between the two sides to implement initiatives on control point enhancements for the sake of facilitating personnel exchange, and economic and trade interactions between the two places with more convenient and comfortable, as well as faster services, and further improving cross-boundary trade facilitation between the two places in order to promote an efficient and smooth flow of various factors of production in the GBA.

          

　　This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr Louis Cha (Jin Yong). The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will organise various activities including large-scale exhibitions, talks, a creative writing event and music performances to commemorate this heavyweight Chinese martial arts novelist.
 
　　The Hong Kong Heritage Museum (HKHM) will first stage the "A Path to Glory – Jin Yong's Centennial Memorial, Sculpted by Ren Zhe" exhibition from March 16 to October 7 to showcase a series of sculptures, created by renowned sculptor Ren Zhe, of 22 well-known characters of Jin Yong's novels. The exhibition also sets alongside captivating multimedia installations created by media artist Victor Wong (winner of the Best Visual Effects of the Hong Kong Film Awards) and his team, to lead visitors into Jin Yong's imaginary world of martial arts. A reading corner is set up in the exhibition gallery where visitors can revisit the fascinating plots of Jin Yong's compelling works through enjoying the collections or audiobooks of Jin Yong's martial arts novels of the Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) right after their visits to the exhibition. This exhibition is one of the pre-programmes of the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival 2024.
 
     Furthermore, Dr Cha's family has donated a bust of Dr Cha for the HKHM's permanent collection. This 60cm-tall bust, sculpted by Ren Zhe and modelled on Dr Cha's image in his later years, will be displayed at the Jin Yong Gallery. The permanent exhibition at the Jin Yong Gallery displays more than 300 sets of exhibits featuring the early career of Dr Cha, the creative process behind his martial arts novels and the impact of his novels on Hong Kong's pop culture.
 
     Another exhibition of Ren Zhe, "A Path to Glory – Jin Yong's Centennial Memorial．The World of Wuxia" will be on display at Edinburgh Place, Central, from March 15 to July 2, showcasing 10 sculptures of Jin Yong's iconic characters. The exhibition is supported by the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.
 
     To tie in with the exhibitions, a series of special programmes will be organised by the HKHM. They include talks by renowned scholars to be held from April to June on Jin Yong and his world of martial arts, the "Martial Arts Secrets Resurface – Chinese Bookbinding" and "Shadow Heroes – Shadow Puppetry" workshops, and the "Touring the fantastic martial arts world created by Jin Yong in Hanfu costume" activity specially arranged for museum pass holders.
 
     For more information about the exhibition and activities, please visit hk.heritage.museum/en/web/hm/highlights.html or call 2180 8188 for enquiries.
 
     In support of the second edition of the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival with the theme of "Arts & Action", the LCSD will launch a series of martial arts-related activities from April. They include the "Arts or Action, Why Not Both? Classic Martial Arts Drama Costumes and Props Exhibition" to be held initially at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and subsequently at the HKHM, displaying 30 pieces of headpieces, costumes, and props from classic martial arts dramas, while the Chinese Orchestras "Martial Arts．Heroes" organised by the Music Office will present classic martial arts music. The LCSD has also invited renowned music producer Carl Wong to collaborate with pop singers and live bands, to present classics related to Jing Yong's works and those composed by Joseph Koo and James Wong.
 
     Starting from April, the HKPL will launch the Creative Writing Event cum Roving Exhibition on "Chivalrous Heroes: My Favourite Characters in Martial Arts Novels", the "Exhibition on Dr. Louis CHA Collection", a subject talk on Jin Yong's works, and the "Taste of Jin Yong's Novels" book exhibition, allowing members of the public to revisit the classics and feel the affection for martial arts. The "Literary Giant – Jin Jong and Louis Cha" collection launched on the Hong Kong Memory website of the library also showcases more than 200 digitised materials including news clippings, manuscripts, radio programmes, photos, audio clips and videos related to Jin Yong.
 
     The LCSD presented the first Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival last year to great acclaim. This year, the second edition features "Arts & Action" as its theme, taking audiences on a journey through time to explore the charm of Hong Kong's pop culture. It encompasses both "Arts" (creative works) and "Action" (martial arts), an attempt to show the dynamic inheritance, diffusion, integration and breakthroughs within Hong Kong's pop culture.
 
     The event lineup offers a diverse range of formats including thematic exhibitions, film screenings, stage performances and outreach activities, and its rich content spans across literature, various art forms and martial arts, clearly showcasing how Hong Kong's vibrant and diverse pop culture stands out from the rest. For more information, please visit www.pcf.gov.hk/en.

  

     A woman who went missing in Kwun Tong has been located.

     Ye Suiying, aged 80, went missing after she was last seen in a shopping centre on Lei Yue Mun Road yesterday (March 12) afternoon. Her family made a report to Police on the same day.

     The woman was located on King’s Road, North Point this afternoon (March 13). She sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.