Health minister Lo Chung-mau said the relocation of Queen Elizabeth Hospital to Kai Tak Hospital will be carried out in phases to ensure a seamless transition for patients.

Kai Tak Hospital, the largest hospital under the Hospital Authority, will begin services in two phases as planned, with the first phase next month.

It will gradually absorb clinical services from Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Meanwhile, officials said the Queen Elizabeth Hospital site in King’s Park will be redeveloped into the city’s first integrated ambulatory care hospital.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday on initiatives in Hong Kong’s first five-year plan and the Policy Address, Lo said the phased relocation is designed to avoid disruptions.

"We understand that there may be some patients who may not be used to that and so be assured that we will ensure that all those patients who have follow-up or new appointments at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital will be seamlessly relocated to Kai Tak," he said.

"And even if they forgot about the appointment and end up in the wrong place in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, we will provide the service for them at the spot."

On manpower, Lo said that of nearly 30,000 nurses in public healthcare, only about 0.6 percent – or 180 – are non-locally trained.

The secretary for health also said no non-locally trained psychiatric nurses have been recruited by the Hospital Authority.

He stressed that health officials give priority to recruiting locally graduated nurses.


Edited by Edmond Fong