Hong Kong Promotes Its Maritime Hub Status at International Reception in London

London ETO promotes Hong Kong as international maritime centre

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London (London ETO), with the support of the Marine Department, hosted a reception at the headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London on May 14 (London time) to promote Hong Kong's position as an international maritime centre.

In her welcome remarks, the Director-General of London ETO, Miss Fiona Chau, highlighted Hong Kong's role as a maritime "super connector" linking the East and the West, and outlined the Government's initiatives to promote smart port and green shipping, including the development of the Port Community System and efforts to advance green fuel bunkering. She said the city's position as an international maritime centre is underpinned by a comprehensive and robust maritime services cluster, offering a wide range of professional services, including legal and arbitration services, shipbroking, marine insurance and ship finance.

The reception was attended by over 300 guests, includingthe Secretary-General of the IMO, Mr Arsenio Dominguez, delegates from IMO member states, senior representatives of international maritime organisations, and prominent shipowner representatives based in London.

London ETO promotes Hong Kong as international maritime centre Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

London ETO promotes Hong Kong as international maritime centre Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

London ETO promotes Hong Kong as international maritime centre Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

London ETO promotes Hong Kong as international maritime centre Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

DH follows up on medical incident reported by Tuen Mun Hospital

In response to Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH)'s announcement of a sentinel event, the Department of Health (DH) today (May 15) said that the DH is investigating the incident and following up with the local responsible person (LRP) of the medical device concerned.

On May 13, the DH received a notification from the Hospital Authority (HA) indicating that air bubbles had been detected in the coronary artery of a 75-year-old male patient during a Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) performed earlier at TMH. According to the preliminary information provided by the HA, it is suspected that the incident is related to the pressure monitoring set used during the procedure.

As the pressure monitoring set in question is listed under the DH's Medical Device Administrative Control System (MDACS), upon receiving the notification, the DH immediately took the following follow-up actions:

Contacted the LRP of the medical device concerned to ascertain the details and requested the LRP to conduct an investigation and submit an investigation report;

As a precautionary measure, the LRP has been instructed to immediately suspend sales of the affected batch and to contact all users in Hong Kong who are using medical devices from the same batch to advise them to temporarily stop using the affected product. To date, the DH has not received any adverse event reporting regarding this medical device from other users; and

Issued a Special Alert on the DH's Medical Device Division website and notified stakeholders, urging users who possess the affected product to temporarily suspend their use and contact the LRP for follow up.

DH's investigation is ongoing. The DH will continue to maintain close communication with the LRP, closely monitor the situation and take follow-up actions based on the investigation report.

The DH introduced the voluntary Medical Device Administrative Control System (MDACS) in 2004, under which a listing system for medical devices and traders as well as a post-market monitoring system for the products are put in place. All listed medical devices meet the safety, quality and performance requirements. Currently, over 9 000 medical devices are listed under the MDACS. Over the past three years, the DH has not received any safety alerts or adverse event reports involving the pressure monitoring set concerned. In response to the latest international regulatory trends, the Government is formulating the statutory regulatory requirements and will consult various stakeholders as appropriate within this year before submitting the legislative proposal to the Legislative Council. The implementation of a statutory registration system for medical devices aligns with the policy directions set out by the Chief Executive in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 Policy Addresses to accelerate the implementation of reforms to the evaluation, approval and registration mechanism for medical products. The HKSAR Government plans to introduce a bill in the second half of this year to achieve the goal of establishing the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation (CMPR) under the DH by the end of 2026. Upon its establishment, the CMPR will systematically consolidate the regulatory functions for Western and Chinese medicines as well as medical devices. By leveraging existing legislation governing Western and Chinese medicines and the proposed statutory regulatory framework for medical devices, the CMPR will comprehensively enhance the regulatory and approval mechanism for medical products, thereby supporting Hong Kong's development as an international Health and Medical Innovation Hub.

Source: AI-found images