Hospital Authority establishes Hong Kong Island Cluster and appoints Cluster Chief Executive

Hospital Authority establishes Hong Kong Island Cluster and appoints Cluster Chief Executive

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

The Hospital Authority (HA) announced today (March 26) that the Hong Kong East Cluster (HKEC) and the Hong Kong West Cluster (HKWC) will officially be integrated to establish the Hong Kong Island Cluster (HKIC) from April 1. Dr Theresa Li will be appointed as the Cluster Chief Executive (CCE) of the HKIC, and the Hospital Chief Executive (HCE) of Queen Mary Hospital (QMH) and Tsan Yuk Hospital (TYH), effective April 1.

The HA spokesperson said, "The HA integrates the HKEC and the HKWC to establish the HKIC in order to rationalise administration and management, streamline administrative procedures, share resources for better cost-effectiveness, and enhance operational and management efficiency."

The HKIC will gradually integrate services currently provided by the HKEC and the HKWC. The spokesperson emphasised that during the integration, the majority of the existing patients will be able to continue receiving services in hospitals in the vicinity, including those using accident and emergency services, family medicine out-patient services and general specialty services with high volume and relatively lower complexity. The HA has long followed the principle of "localising where possible, centralising where necessary" to integrate medical services on Hong Kong Island. Each hospital in the cluster will continue to perform their current key functions and uphold their expertise while complementing the strengths of other hospitals within the cluster, thereby providing comprehensive healthcare services more effectively.

For some specialty services with a relatively lower demand, with operations involving personnel with specialised clinical techniques and qualifications, or require sophisticated equipment and advanced technology such as the organ transplant services at QMH and the hyperbaric oxygen treatment at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital (PYNEH), centralisation of specialists, specialised equipment and complicated cases for handling at designated hospitals will be arranged. The professional medical teams will be able to further focus on developing the strengths of their respective specialty services. In addition, by collaborating with various service provision points of the relevant specialty services within the cluster, healthcare services with even better quality will be provided for those complex medical cases which constitute only a small number of patients.

Moving forward, the HKIC will manage 14 hospitals. This includes four acute hospitals - QMH, PYNEH, Ruttonjee Hospital, and St John Hospital - along with 10 rehabilitation, convalescent and extended care hospitals and 18 Family Medicine Clinics, primarily serving around 1.2 million residents on Hong Kong Island.

Dr Li, appointed as the CCE of the HKIC and the HCE of QMH and TYH, is an anaesthesiologistby background, with ample executive experience in cluster and corporate management. Dr Li is currently the CCE of HKWC andthe HCE of QMH and TYH. Prior to her current position, she served as the Head of Human Resources of the HA, the HCE of Shatin Hospital and Bradbury Hospice, and the Cluster Manager (Strategy, Planning and Service Transformation) of the Kowloon Central Cluster.

The HA Chairman, Mr Henry Fan, and the HA Chief Executive, Dr Libby Lee, congratulated Dr Li on her new appointment and wish her every success in taking up the new post.

The Hospital Authority announced today (March 26) that Dr Theresa Li will be appointed as the Cluster Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Island Cluster, and the Hospital Chief Executive of Queen Mary Hospital and Tsan Yuk Hospital, effective April 1. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Three Incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes

Three incoming passengers were sentenced to two to six months' imprisonment and fined $1,000 respectively by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (May 18) for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare them to Customs officers, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).

Customs officers intercepted an incoming male passenger, aged 27, at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) on March 21. Customs officers seized about 40 600 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $182,700 and a duty potential of about $134,200, from his personal baggage. The passenger was subsequently arrested. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and fined $1,000 today.

Separately, Customs officers intercepted two incoming male passengers, aged 27 and 39, at HKIA on May 16 and seized around 16 500 duty-not-paid cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $68,000 and a duty potential of about $54,900, as well as around 60 400 duty-not-paid cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $271,800 and a duty potential of about $199,700, respectively, from their personal baggage. The two passengers were subsequently arrested. They were respectively sentenced to two months' imprisonment with a fine of $1,000, and six months' imprisonment with a fine of $1,000 today.

Customs welcomes the sentences. The custodial sentences have imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflect the seriousness of the offences.

Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account(crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Three Incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Three Incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Three Incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases