The Hospital Authority says experience gained from operating Hong Kong’s two chest pain centres can lead to the adoption of its protocols in other jurisdictions. Both centres were designed and built to national accreditation standards.

On Friday, mainland authorities are set to announce the standards for international adoption at the China Chest Pain Centres Congress, a two-day medical conference at Hong Kong’s Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The chair of the authority’s cardiac central committee, Dr Tam Li-wah, said the chest pain centres at Queen Mary and Prince of Wales hospitals have proved that the nation’s standards are feasible, including the setting up of a green channel that standardises the process for giving priority treatment to acute chest pain patients.

"It mainly involves the setting up of a green channel, which Hong Kong did not have in the past. This green channel streamlined admission procedures and reduced processing time," he said.

"We have verified this at Queen Mary Hospital, where patients had a much faster admission to the cardiac catheterisation laboratory upon arrival. It was a huge improvement."

At Prince of Wales Hospital, Consultant Dr Chui Ka-lung noted that since the green channel was set up at the beginning of the year, the median time for patients to undergo angioplasty surgery had dropped from 80 minutes to just an hour last month.

The green channel has also allowed patients to undergo an electrocardiogram within 10 minutes of their first medical contact, which is less than half the time taken in the past, he added.

Chui said he hopes international standards can be applied to Belt and Road countries to help improve their medical systems.

"The nation's first trial point is Hong Kong. We hope the standards can be introduced in Belt and Road countries and improve their healthcare system, particularly when it comes to the treatment of heart attacks or strokes, where time is critical to these patients," he said.

"This could also help remote regions where healthcare is less accessible, by offering alternative treatments other than angioplasty."



Edited by Robert Kemp