Hong Kong's largest public hospital, Kai Tak Hospital, to commence service in phases during second half of 2026
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson announced today (April 10) that the new acute hospital located in the Kai Tak Development Area is scheduled to commence services in October 2026 in phases. Officially named Kai Tak Hospital (KTH), it will be the largest healthcare hub in terms of bed capacity and total floor area in Hong Kong, with a total gross floor area of 500 000 square metres and 2 400 beds once fully operational.
The HA spokesperson said, "KTH will serve Yau Tsim Mong, Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong districts, covering a population of more than 1.8 million. As the flagship hospital in the Kowloon Central Cluster, KTH will collaborate with other hospitals in the districts to optimise the overall acute care services in Kowloon, ensuring a more balanced distribution of public healthcare resources and efficient service provision. KTH will also provide clinical support to the adjacent Hong Kong Children's Hospital, strengthening the synergy between the two hospitals, and will become the largest public healthcare hub in Hong Kong."
KTH will commence services in two phases as planned, gradually absorbing clinical services from Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The Specialist Out-patient Clinic Block and the Oncology Block are scheduled to commence services in October 2026. In the first phase, clinical services to be launched include those at the Family Medicine Integrated Centre, and specialist out-patient services of the Departments of Medicine, Surgery, Neurosurgery, Family Medicine, and Oncology (for existing patients). In addition, allied health services, the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, and a range of supporting clinical services will also begin simultaneously. Subsequently, the HA will implement the second phase of service arrangements. It is anticipated that in-patient, surgical and Accident and Emergency services will commence in 2028 to ensure smooth service transition, providing the public with higher-quality and more accessible public healthcare services.
KTH comprises five towers, equipped with 37 operating theatres and a range of advanced clinical facilities. It contains various specialist centres, such as the Oncology Centre and Neuroscience Centre to support complex referrals. As a designated Trauma Centre under the HA, it provides 24-hour Accident and Emergency services for all types of emergencies, urgent situations and major incidents. KTH is the first public hospital in Hong Kong equipped with a cyclotron, enabling in-house production of radioactive tracers for diagnostic examinations and oncology, further strengthening its clinical capabilities.
The HA spokesperson added, "The name 'Kai Tak' originates from two local businessmen, Mr Ho Kai and Mr Au Tak, and carries historical significance for the healthcare development in Hong Kong. Mr Ho was a seminal figure of Chinese physician in Western medicine in Hong Kong, co-founding the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (the forerunner of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong), and actively promoting the establishment of Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital and Kwong Wah Hospital. His contributions were instrumental in fostering medicine in Hong Kong. The name 'Kai Tak' not only reflects this local heritage but also echoes the hospital's location, symbolising its commitment to patient-centred care and community outreach."
The HA has set up a dedicated team to follow up on the relocation of services to KTH. Staff will personally call patients to inform them of their new appointment details, and notifications will also be sent via text message, post and the HA mobile application "HA Go". In addition, the KTH Hotline at 3506 5188 is also operational to answer patient enquiries.
Kai Tak Hospital is scheduled to commence services in October 2026 in phases. Photo shows the Oncology Block, with the Specialist Out-patient Clinic Block behind it. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Primary Healthcare Commission to integrate Hong Kong's primary healthcare services for elderly people in phases
The Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission) under the Health Bureau announced today (August 18) that primary healthcare services for the elderly in Hong Kong will be further enhanced. Starting from October 5 (Monday), the services of Elderly Health Centres (EHCs) under the Department of Health (DH) will be gradually integrated into the district health network, providing more comprehensive primary healthcare services for the elderly under a new service model.
Substantial increase in service points and service capacity
The integration of elderly health services aims to implement the primary healthcare direction put forward by the Chief Executive in the Policy Address, and to take forward the measures set out in the Primary Healthcare Blueprint. The PHC Commission will integrate nine EHCs, namely those in North District, Yuen Long, Tuen Mun Wu Hong, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Shing, San Po Kong, Yau Ma Tei, Shau Kei Wan and Aberdeen (see Annex 1) in the first phase. Integration of the remaining nine EHCs will be completed within 2027-28.
Upon completion of the integration, the number of service points will increase substantially from the current 18 to more than 100, covering District Health Centres/District Health Centre Expresses (collectively referred to as DHCs) across all 18 districts in Hong Kong and designated Hospital Authority (HA) Family Medicine Clinics (FMCs), among others. The overall capacity for elderly health services will also double, increasing from the current approximately 54 000 elderly persons per year to more than 120 000. The service flow of chronic disease management and health assessment services after integration is as follows (see Annex 2).
Arrangements for integrating chronic disease management services
Elderly persons who have follow-up consultations or examinations at the nine EHCs in the first phase may continue to attend their appointments at the EHCs on the scheduled dates. Starting from October 5 this year, after the elderly persons have completed their follow-up consultations, the DHCs will co-ordinate their subsequent follow-ups. Upon registration as DHC members for free, the elderly persons can directly enter the treatment phase of the Chronic Disease Co-Care Scheme after assessment, and receive follow-up care from a community family doctor of their choice. In addition, arrangements will be made for elderly persons receiving follow-up consultations at both an EHC under the DH and an FMC under the HA, to continue their follow-up care at the FMC.
Arrangements for integrating health assessment service
For members who have appointments for health assessment services at the EHCs, the DH will continue to provide services. Members awaiting an appointment date and elderly persons interested in using EHC services will receive services at the DHCs starting from December this year. The PHC Commission will roll out more comprehensive elderly health assessment services. The scope of assessments provided by the DHCs will be expanded from the current domains of cognition, mobility and vision to cover nutrition, hearing, psychological capacity and urinary problems. Healthcare professionals will formulate tailored management plans for the elderly persons based on the assessment results. Details will be announced later.
Service arrangements for underprivileged elderly
Elderly persons who are recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, recipients of the Old Age Living Allowance aged 75 or above, or holder of valid medical fee waiver certificates will, upon registering as DHC members, be arranged to receive preventive elderly health services and assessments at designated HA FMCs. Subject to their eligibility, the relevant fees may be fully or partially waived.
Follow-up work
The PHC Commission, together with the DH, will gradually issue letters to EHC members in the coming weeks to inform them of the service integration and subsequent follow-up arrangements. Meanwhile, the EHCs will update their signage, and the PHC Commission will also progressively refurbish the existing facilities and environment of the EHCs. Relevant information has already also been uploaded to the EHC website and the DHC website. Members of the public may also visit or call the EHCs and DHCs (see Annex 3) for enquiries. They may also call the Primary Healthcare Co-care Network enquiry line at 2157 0500, which operates from 9am to 9pm on Mondays to Saturdays (except public holidays).
Source: AI-found images
