Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ3: New acute general hospital in Kai Tak Development Area
Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-kin and a written reply by
the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative
Council today (February 12):
Question:
The Government proposed in this year's Policy Address to conduct
strategic planning to prepare for the building of a new acute hospital
(the new hospital) at Kai Tak Development Area. It has been reported
that the authorities intend to raise the plot ratio of the new hospital
site so as to increase the number of beds and to relocate all the
existing healthcare services of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) to the
new hospital. In this connection, will the Government inform this
Council:
(1) whether the strategic planning will include conducting studies and
public consultations on issues relating to relocation of the healthcare
services of QEH; if so, of the details as well as the relevant initial
ideas, timetable and estimated expenditure; when the new hospital is
expected to be completed and commissioned;
(2) of the number of beds to be provided by the new hospital, and
whether that figure is calculated on the basis of an increased plot
ratio; if so, of the details; how the number of beds in the new hospital
compares with the current number of beds provided by QEH, and whether
the former will be sufficient to meet the additional demand for
healthcare services arising from future population growth in the nearby
areas;
(3) of the area of the new hospital site; whether the authorities have
assessed if the site has sufficient space for future expansion; if they
have assessed, of the results; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) of the land use of the site currently occupied by QEH after
relocation of its healthcare services to the new hospital, and whether
the site will continue to be used for providing public healthcare
services; whether the authorities have assessed the impact of QEH
ceasing to provide healthcare services at its existing site on the
demand for services of Kwong Wah Hospital, the other acute hospital
nearby; if they have assessed, of the results; if not, the reasons for
that?
Reply:
President,
To meet the healthcare service demand of the Kowloon region in the long
run, we have reserved a site in the Kai Tak Development (KTD) Area for
the construction of a new acute general hospital. The proposed hospital
will provide clinical services of major specialties, including accident
and emergency services. The Hospital Authority (HA) is conducting the
relevant strategic planning and studies to gauge the service needs of
Kowloon and the Kai Tak area. Technical assessment and analysis of
clinical needs are also being carried out so that the provision of
medical services can suitably cope with the long-term development of the
area. The service planning and technical feasibility study for the new
hospital are expected to be completed this year. We will then seek
funding approval in accordance with the established procedures so as to
implement the project as soon as possible.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) The HA is reviewing and assessing the overall demand for and supply
of healthcare services in Kowloon, as well as developing the clinical
services plan of the Kowloon Central Cluster (KCC). The review and the
services plan are expected to be completed within this year. The key
aspects of the services plan include formulating proposals for the
healthcare services to be provided by the acute general hospital in the
KTD Area and mapping out the future development directions of the
existing hospitals in the KCC. Upon completion of the planning work, the
HA will work out the timetable and estimated expenditure involved in the
development of the new hospital.
(2) At present, Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) provides a total of 1 844
beds. The HA is developing the clinical services plan for the KCC,
setting out its future development direction as well as the service
capacity of and the number of beds to be provided by the new acute
general hospital in the KTD Area. Upon completion of the clinical
services plan, the HA will start the planning for the construction of
the new hospital and conduct relevant technical feasibility studies.
In making demand projection and defining the scale of the new acute
general hospital in Kai Tak (including the number of beds), we will take
into account the population in the KTD Area and other factors such as
the pace of population growth and ageing in Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon City
and the neighbourhood areas, cross-district utilisation of medical
services, as well as the roles of various hospitals in the district and
the co-ordination of their services and facilities. This is to ensure
that the provision of medical services in the district can suitably
address the overall long-term service demand.
(3) We have reserved about seven hectares of land in the KTD Area for
the development of healthcare facilities, including the Centre of
Excellence in Paediatrics under construction and the proposed acute
general hospital. As mentioned in the previous paragraphs, the HA is
conducting strategic planning and studies for the development of the
acute general hospital in the KTD. Subject to technical feasibility, the
HA will consider development options and the need for further expansion
of the new hospital having regard to the long-term demand for medical
services.
(4) The clinical services plan of the KCC and the technical feasibility
study for the new hospital is expected to be completed in 2014. During
the planning process, the needs of local residents will be considered,
the development of hospitals in the cluster (including QEH) and their
co-ordination with other hospitals will also be worked out according to
the demand projection.
The redevelopment of the QEH is still in the preliminary
planning/conceptual stage and the Administration has yet to finalise a
plan. Nevertheless, with an increasing demand for overall healthcare
services in Hong Kong, there is a need to provide more healthcare
facilities. Hence, we do not have plan to change the use of the current
QEH site from provision of public healthcare services to other purposes.
Ends/Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Issued at HKT 12:29
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