Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ11: Redevelopment of Kwong Wah Hospital
Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a written reply by
the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative
Council today (April 24):
Question:
At present, whole-day acute care services are provided for residents of
West Kowloon by Kwong Wah Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Princess
Margaret Hospital and Caritas Medical Centre. The preparatory works for
the redevelopment of Kwong Wah Hospital (redevelopment project) have
already commenced in March this year. Some residents have expressed their
concern that the project might impact gravely on the medical services
provided by the hospital and lengthen the waiting time for various kinds
of services, thereby delaying treatment of patients, and exerting
significant pressure on other hospitals in the Kowloon West Cluster and
the acute care services of the nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital. In this
connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(a) the present progress and implementation timetable of the preparatory
works for the redevelopment project;
(b) based on the latest assessment conducted by the Hospital Authority
(HA), whether the various medical services provided by Kwong Wah Hospital,
such as acute care services, operations and medical check-ups, etc. will
be affected during its redevelopment; if the assessment result is in the
affirmative, of the details of the corresponding measures and plans;
whether, on the principle that neither the waiting time nor the medical
care quality should be affected, HA plans to arrange for members of the
public to undergo operations and medical check-ups and receive other
medical treatments, which have been scheduled, in nearby hospitals; if it
has, of the details;
(c) whether Kwong Wah Hospital has coordinated with other hospitals (in
particular those of the Kowloon West and Kowloon Central Clusters) in
respect of the following matters to avoid the situation where residents
seeking acute care services converge excessively on a certain hospital:
assessment of the pressure on the medical services provided by such
hospitals while the redevelopment project is in progress, formulation of
corresponding measures, establishment of a mechanism for the various
hospitals to regularly exchange information on their acute care services
and provide relevant information to the public, as well as regulation of
the number of people seeking treatment and patient flow; and
(d) whether HA will regularly announce the progress of the works of the
redevelopment project to enhance transparency; if it will, of the details?
Reply:
President,
(a) The Finance Committee of the Legislative Council approved in February
2013 funding of $552.7 million for the Hospital Authority (HA) to commence
the preparatory work of the redevelopment project of Kwong Wah Hospital
(KWH). The preparatory work, which started in March this year, has been
progressing on schedule. It mainly includes site investigation, building
survey, decanting works, as well as consultancy services for outline
sketch design, detailed design, tender documentation and tender assessment
for the main works. It is estimated that demolition and construction works
of the complex involved in the main works will be carried out in phases
starting from 2016 and the entire redevelopment project will be completed
by 2022.
(b) and (c) The accident and emergency services of KWH will remain
unchanged during the redevelopment period. Any disruption of non-emergency
services, if unavoidable, will be kept to a minimum. To this end, the main
works of the redevelopment of KWH will commence in phases.
The first phase involves the demolition of three existing hospital
buildings for the phase one construction of the new complex. The new
complex has a floor area larger than that of the existing hospital
buildings and will be used to reprovision clinical services from the
remaining buildings during their demolition in the second phase of the
main works.
During the first phase of the main works, KWH will, through decanting
arrangements, relocate the existing clinical services provided in the
South Wing to the East Wing and the North Wing, which are not yet
demolished, so as to maintain the essential clinical services on-site.
Other ancillary facilities such as offices, stores and staff accommodation
will be temporarily decanted off-site so that the vacated spaces in
buildings not demolished in the first phase could be used to accommodate
the affected clinical services so as to ensure continuity of clinical
services for patients in need.
Besides the phased implementation of the project, KWH will extend service
hours of the operating theatres so that patients' waiting time for
operations will not be affected by the redevelopment. Specialist
out-patient consultation services will not be affected as they are
provided at the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs) Tsui Tsin Tong
Out-patient Building which will not be demolished in the redevelopment
project. Ambulatory care services and support to patients in the local
community will be strengthened, hence reducing the need for
hospitalisation. The Kowloon West Cluster will deploy service places and
services of various hospitals with flexibility according to service needs,
so as to provide the public with necessary healthcare services during the
redevelopment of the hospital.
(d) HA has maintained liaison with local bodies, such as Yau Tsim Mong
District Council (YTMDC), Yau Tsim Mong District Office and different area
committees in Yau Tsim Mong, etc. KWH also consulted YTMDC on the
redevelopment project in January 2012 and has obtained its support. When
the project is underway, KWH will regularly report the latest progress to,
collect views from and timely address the concerns of relevant
stakeholders (e.g. YTMDC, schools in the vicinity, owners' corporations of
buildings in the district, as well as relevant government departments and
non-government organisations) through available channels.
Ends/Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:19
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