Hospital Authority signs Memorandum of Understanding to support community healthcare development on Mainland
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) today (January 13) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Health Commission (NHC) and the Chow Tai Fook Medical Foundation Limited (Chow Tai Fook Medical Foundation) to launch Phase II of the New Horizon in Community Health (the Training Project) to dovetail the development of community and primary care policies and strengthen the training of more healthcare professionals on the Mainland.
The MOU signing ceremony was witnessed by the Minister of the NHC, Mr Lei Haichao, and the HA Chairman, Mr Henry Fan. The five-year MOU was jointly signed by the Acting Director-General of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs of the NHC, Mr Feng Yong; the Chairman of the Chow Tai Fook Medical Foundation, Mr Cheng Kar-Shing; and the HA Chief Executive, Dr Libby Lee.
Phase II of the TrainingProject will last for five years, with the goal of further training more primary healthcare staff on the Mainland, enhancing their clinical practice and primary healthcare management capabilities. The project will continue to adopt the management framework established in Phase I. The NHC will oversee the recruitment of trainees and provide overall co-ordination and guidance. The Foundation will provide approximately $10 million in funding support. The HA will be responsible for organising diverse trainings, including online and offline courses, site visits and mentorships in both places, and joint academic exchange conferences.
Mr Fan said, "The fruitful results of Phase I are very encouraging, and it is gratifying that we can continue with Phase II this year. The HA is honoured to continue participating in the Training Project, sharing Hong Kong's experience in family medicine training and faciliating professional exchanges between the two places to complement each other's strengths. The release of the Implementation Plan for Strengthening Primary Healthcare Services last year aims to further improve the primary healthcare system on the Mainland. The TrainingProject enables Hong Kong to contribute to the development of national public health."
Mr Cheng said, "The Foundation is dedicated to advancing medical education and talent development. We are delighted to partner with the NHC and the HA in launching Phase II of the TrainingProject. We aim to benefit more primary healthcare professionals, enhancing community healthcare services by continued resource inputs and professional exchanges. This will strengthen the national primary healthcare system and promote long-term collaboration between Hong Kong and the Mainland, creating a better future for community healthcare."
To dovetail with the national development of community and primary healthcare, the former Ministry of Health (now NHC), the HA and the Dr Cheng Yu Tung Foundation first signed an MOU in 2007 to collaborate on training healthcare professionals on the Mainland. Phase I of the TrainingProject was completed last year, successfully training over 1 500 primary healthcare professionals across 31 provinces, municipalities and regions on the Mainland. To continue the success of the project and after friendly consultation, the NHC, the Foundation and the HA will jointly launch Phase II of the project.
Hospital Authority signs Memorandum of Understanding to support community healthcare development on Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
