Development Bureau imposes regulating action on contractors and subcontractor involved in fatal industrial incident at public works construction site in Southern District on Hong Kong Island
A spokesman for the Development Bureau (DEVB) said today (July 28) that regarding the fatal industrial incident that happened on July 27 at a public works construction site in Southern District on Hong Kong Island, the contractors concerned were on the List of Approved Contractors for Public Works (the List) and the subcontractor concerned was on the List of Approved Suppliers of Materials and Specialist Contractors for Public Works (the Specialist List).
The DEVB, being the party to procure services for public works, attaches great importance to the site safety performance of all construction sites under the purview of contractors on the List and the Specialist List. The DEVB issued notifications to the contractors and subcontractor concerned today to suspend the contractors and subcontractor from tendering for public works contracts in the buildings category and the lift, escalator and passenger conveyor installation category respectively with immediate effect pursuant to the regulating regime. The contractors and subcontractor concerned have to conduct an independent safety audit to review their safety management system. Taking cognisance of the outcome of the independent safety audit, the contractors and subcontractor are required to submit an improvement action plan and implement improvement measures, with a view to demonstrating that they have an effective safety management system before the lifting of the suspension from tendering can be considered. The suspension from tendering is not only confined to future tender exercises, but is also applicable to tender exercises with procedures initiated but not concluded.
The Labour Department is investigating this industrial incident and will handle it in accordance with the law. Subject to the investigation findings, the DEVB may impose further regulating actions on the contractors and subcontractor concerned later on, including extension of the period of suspension from tendering for public works contracts and even removal from the List and Specialist List.
Source: AI-found images
Public hospitals experience smooth operations on second day of public healthcare fees and charges reform
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
On the second day (January 2) of the implementation of the Hospital Authority public healthcare fees and charges reform (fees and charges reform), public hospitals maintained smooth operation. The HA will continue to deploy additional manpower across various departments at hospitals to assist patients in need.
On the first day (January 1) of the fees and charges reform, 3 888 patients attended the Accident and Emergency departments (A&E) of 18 public hospitals, a decrease of about 25 per cent when comparing to New Year's Day last year. From midnight to 2pm yesterday (January 2), 2 329 patients attended all A&E, approximately 30 per cent fewer than the same time period of January 2 of last year. Among the patients seeking medical consultation, there were 34 critical cases and 82 emergency cases. According to the new fees and charges arrangement, these two categories of patients will have their A&E charges fully exempted. The other cases subject to the new fees and charges arrangement include 986 urgent cases, 1 171 semi-urgent cases, and 56 non-urgent cases. The average waiting times for semi-urgent and non-urgent cases was around 55 minutes, which is shorter compared to the average waiting time for the same period last year (approximately 147 minutes) for semi-urgent and non-urgent cases.
Additionally, the HA's 75 Family Medicine Clinics (FMCs) providing family medicine outpatient services also operated smoothly yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, approximately 10 000 patients attended these FMCs, with overall service usage remaining similar to that before the implementation of the measures.
The HA has deployed additional manpower to expedite the processing of patients' medical fee waivers applications. As of 2pm yesterday, public hospitals received approximately 3 300 applications in total for the day, with nearly 90per cent approved, amounting to about 2 900 applications. The remaining cases will be processed as soon as possible. Compared to the 14 000 individuals who were approved for medical fee waivers in 2023/24, the HA has approved approximately 35 000 applications since early November last year, benefiting citizens in need.
Furthermore, patients who had previously scheduled non-urgent radiology services or pathology services will be receiving payment notifications through mail or the HA mobile application HA Go starting from January 1. The HA reminds patients with recent appointments can arrange payment as early as practicable upon receiving the notification. For patients with distant appointment dates, payment can be arranged at their convenience after receiving the notification. Patients are not required to settle the payment immediately. Patients undergoing non-urgent radiology services must settle the payment at least 14 days before their appointment date, while patients requiring pathology services must settle the payment before testing. If patients have questions regarding payment items, they can inquire with healthcare staff during follow-up appointment, and specialist out-patient clinics will also have Integrated Patient Service Centres to provide detailed explanations about payment arrangements.
The HA reminds patients that the fees and charges reform has been implemented. Patients are advised to familiarise themselves with the new fees and charges arrangements before visiting public hospitals or outpatient clinics. Some medical service procedures have also been modified. Every cluster has set up hotlines (see table below) for patients to inquire about the fees and charges reform arrangements. Patients can also visit the HA website to learn about the new arrangements.
Hotlines for Public Healthcare Fees and Charges Reform
Clusters |
Hotlines |
Hong Kong East Cluster |
6460 4303 |
Hong Kong West Cluster |
2255 4177 |
Kowloon Central Cluster |
3506 7198 |
Kowloon East Cluster |
5215 7326 |
Kowloon West Cluster |
3467 7575 |
New Territories East Cluster |
6273 3551 |
New Territories West Cluster |
2468 5353 |
Service hours: January 2-11, 2026, 8am to 8pm
Source: AI-found images
