Government to extend Pilot Scheme for Supporting Patients of Hospital Authority in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
The Health Bureau announced today (March 31) the extension of the Pilot Scheme for Supporting Patients of the Hospital Authority in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Pilot Scheme) for one year until March 31 next year, with a view to enabling eligible patients of the Hospital Authority (HA), i.e. patients with scheduled follow-up appointments at designated Specialist Out-patient Clinics or Family Medicine Clinics of the HA, to choose to receive subsidised consultation services at the designated collaborating healthcare institution in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
Launched on May 10, 2023, the Pilot Scheme aims to provide an additional service option for eligible HA patients, and is currently applicable to the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZH). As of end-February this year, more than 6 000 eligible patients have participated in the Pilot Scheme, with more than 60percent being elderly aged 65 or above. According to a patient survey conducted by the HKU-SZH in November last year, over 90 per cent of the respondents found its services satisfactory. The Government and the HA will evaluate the effectiveness and scope of services of the Pilot Scheme each year and make necessary adjustments in a timely manner.
Under the extended Pilot Scheme, if an eligible HA patient incurs a medical fee of RMB100 or above for each consultation received at the designated out-patient clinic of the HKU-SZH, the patient (except for specified persons who are medical fee waiver holders as verified by the HA) will be required to co-pay RMB100, while the remaining medical fee will be subsidised by the Pilot Scheme, subject to a cap of RMB2,000 per year. The validity period of the relevant subsidy is from tomorrow (April 1) to March 31 next year.
The scope of subsidised consultation services under the Pilot Scheme will continue to cover out-patient services provided by the HA, namely anaesthesiology (pain clinic only); cardiothoracic surgery; clinical oncology; ear, nose and throat; eye; gynaecology; internal medicine; neurosurgery; obstetrics; orthopaedics and traumatology (orthopaedics); paediatrics; surgery; and family medicine out-patient services. Episodic illnesses, inpatient or day inpatient, as well as Accident and Emergency services are not included under the scope of subsidised consultation services. Eligible HA patients are required to attend at the service departments of the HKU-SZH that correspond with the HA's out-patient service categories for which they have medical follow-up to receive subsidised consultation services.
Existing patients of the Pilot Scheme who wish to continue participating in the Scheme may make appointments through the existing channels whereby the HKU-SZH will make appointments at the departments that correspond with the HA's out-patient service categories for which they have follow-up appointments. They should also complete the declaration to confirm continued participation at the HKU-SZH before receiving any subsidised consultation services. For patients who wish to cease participation in the Pilot Scheme and return to Hong Kong for follow-up consultations at the out-patient clinics of the HA, they may approach the HKU-SZH and the hospital will make a referral for them to arrange follow-up appointments at the corresponding out-patient clinics of the HA according to their clinical needs.
As for eligible HA patients who have not participated in the Pilot Scheme before or those who have joined the Scheme but need to have their personal information updated, they may submit their application to the HKU-SZH from tomorrow.
All HA patients participating in the Pilot Scheme are required to register with eHealth. Prior to their consultations at the HKU-SZH, patients may, as necessary, apply for their electronic health records deposited in eHealth over the past three years through the "Cross-boundary Health Record" function on the eHealth mobile application and authorise healthcare professionals to access such records during consultations to facilitate diagnosis and treatment. After consultations, patients may also use the "Personal Folder" function to deposit their medical records from the HKU-SZH to their personal eHealth account for centralised storage and usage, including allowing authorised Hong Kong healthcare institutions to access during follow-up care.
Details will be uploaded to the websites of the HA and the HKU-SZH later for public reference. For enquiries, citizens may also call the HA (Tel: 2300 7070; Service Hours: 9am - 6pm, Mondays to Fridays, except public holidays) or the HKU-SZH (Tel: (+86) 0755-86913101; Service Hours: 8am - 12.30pm and 2pm - 5.30pm, Mondays to Fridays, except public holidays).
Source: AI-found images
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video)
The 2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit, jointly organised by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB), the Women's Commission and the Family Council, was held today (March 31). Marking the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, and building on the spirit of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women held in Beijing in October 2025, this Summit adopted the theme "Shaping Women's Strengths and Harnessing a Shared Future for Families", aiming to take women's development and family building to the next level. The Summit attracted more than 1 200 representatives from local and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area women's groups, the business sector and relevant service organisations to register and participate.
State Councilor, Chairperson of the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council and President of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), Ms Shen Yiqin, officiated at the Summit and delivered an opening address.
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, said in his remarks at the opening ceremony that the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women was successfully convened in Beijing last year, injecting new momentum into promoting global gender equality and the all-round development of women. President Xi Jinping put forward four proposals in the meeting - jointly foster an enabling environment for women's growth and development, jointly cultivate powerful momentum for the high-quality development of women's causes, jointly develop governance frameworks to protect women's rights and interests, and jointly write a new chapter in promoting global co-operation on women. These important proposals provide clear direction for the development of women's causes, inspiring broader consensus-building and taking more pragmatic actions to fully promote the all-round development of women.
Mr Lee said his policy rationale is to build Hong Kong into a caring and inclusive home, with the family at its core. Women's development and family building complement each other. The current-term Government has actively implemented various measures to lay a solid foundation in these two aspects. Looking ahead, the Government will continue to improve support policies for women in areas such as employment and entrepreneurship, lifelong learning, and physical and mental well-being to sustain an environment conducive to women's development. Concurrently, further efforts will be made to promote the importance of family, family education and family values, and to advocate Chinese traditional virtues, thus fostering a caring and inclusive community.
The Summit gathered leaders responsible for family and women's policies from the nation and Hong Kong, representatives of international organisations and prominent figures from related fields as speakers. They included the Secretary-General of the International Organization for Mediation, Professor Teresa Cheng; Head of Office (ad interim) of UN Women China, Mr Chuqiao Wang; the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak; and the Chairperson of the Women's Commission, Dr Eliza Chan. In their keynote speeches, they shared their experience and insights on women's development in the new era, the promotion of women's rights and interests, and family building.
Miss Mak said in her keynote speech, "This year's Summit adopted the theme 'Shaping Women's Strengths and Harnessing a Shared Future for Families,' encompassing society's collective responsibility and commitment, while echoing the core spirit of the Beijing Meeting. Through this Summit, we hope to carry forward the vision of the Beijing Meeting and implement the important proposals put forward by President Xi, so that women can see opportunities, receive support and participate in development, while families can be filled with warmth, harmony and love, and play an important role in social governance."
Miss Mak said that since taking office in 2022, the current-term Government has entrusted the HYAB with the important responsibility of promoting women's development. Under the leadership of the Chief Executive, the HYAB has implemented a number of measures to promote women's and family development, including continuously promoting awareness of gender equality and gender mainstreaming in the community, encouraging enterprises to adopt family-friendly measures, launching the Family and Women Portal, and supporting women of different backgrounds and ages to better equip themselves through the Women Empowerment Fund (the Fund) and the "She Inspires" Mentorship Programme (the Programme), thereby injecting stronger impetus into women's development in Hong Kong. The annual allocation for the Fund has been increased from $20 million to $30 million, while the quota for the second cohort of the Programme has also been increased to 120. The HYAB and the Family Council have also launched the five-year new Funding Scheme on the Promotion of Family Education to subsidise community family education projects to raise public awareness of the importance of family values. Last year, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government launched the first Hong Kong Excellent Family Awards to promote family education and family virtues by sharing families' real-life stories.
Two thematic sessions were held at the Summit. The first session themed "Co-creating 'She Power' in the New Era" was chaired by the Deputy Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs (Home Affairs), Mr Paul Wong. The panelists, including Representative of the United Nations Population Fund to China, Ms Nadia Rasheed; Vice-Chairperson and the Secretary-General of China Women's Development Foundation, Ms Dong Kui; and the Chief Executive Officer of the MTR Corporation, Ms Jeny Yeung, shared their experiences and explored ways to foster an enabling environment for women's development, and empower them to seize the opportunities of the new era.
The other session with the theme "Uniting Our Families, Co-building a Harmonious Society" was co-chaired by the Chairperson of the Family Council, Ms Melissa Pang, and the emcee of the Summit, Ms Astrid Chan. Renowned artistes Mr and Mrs Moses Chan; Olympic diving champion and member of the World Aquatics Diving Technical Committee, Ms Guo Jingjing; and two recipients of the Hong Kong Excellent Family Awards, Lai Yan-hon's family and Lee Yuk-yee's family, shared their experiences in fulfilling family responsibilities and wisdom in managing their households. They also discussed how family cohesion provides steadfast support in times of adversity, and how this strength can spread warmth to the wider community and help build a harmonious society.
Exhibition booths were also set up at the venue to showcase the achievements of women's groups and family service organisations in promoting women's development and family education.
For details and highlights of the Summit, please visit the webpage of the Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit (www.familyandwomensummit.hk/hyab2026/home).
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2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit held smoothly (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
