Hospital Authority standardises caller identification number prefix 18285 and 18286 to make identifying calls easier
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) announced today (May 18) that it will gradually adopt a set of designated prefixes for caller identification (caller ID) numbers starting next Tuesday (May 26). Going forward, telephone calls made by the HA will display a unified caller ID number beginning with either 18285 or 18286. The new caller ID number will consist of seven digits, and each operating unit under the HA will be allocated a number between 1828 500 and 1828 599 or between 1828 600 and 1828 699 for caller ID purposes.
The Hospital Authority (HA), Photo source: reference image
"After the HA adopts caller ID numbers beginning with 18285 or 18286, members of the public can clearly identify HA calls, thereby reducing the chances of them refusing to answer calls due to concerns about excessive promotional calls or potential phone scams, and even missing urgent calls from accident and emergency departments or wards. We encourage members of the public who frequently use public hospital services to save the new caller ID numbers to their mobile phone contact list, which can help reduce refusals to answer caused by misunderstanding," the HA spokesperson said.
HA operating units, including public hospitals, family medicine clinics, specialist outpatient clinics, healthcare institutions, and the HA Head Office will progressively switch to the special caller ID numbers within the coming month, with completion expected by the end of June. For the caller ID numbers of the various operating units, please refer to the appendix.
The spokesperson added, "The caller ID transition will be implemented in phases, and the switchover timing will vary across different operating units. Members of the public should take care to verify the identity of the caller when receiving calls from public hospitals. Where the HA needs to contact members of the public, it will generally do so by having staff call them directly and provide relevant information to verify identity. The HA reminds members of the public not to provide any personal information to calls from unknown sources to avoid privacy breaches. If they suspect that they have received a scam call, they should seek assistance from the Police."
The HA also reminds members of the public that all numbers starting with 18285 or 18286 will be used solely for caller ID purposes of calls made by the HA, to assist the public in identifying incoming calls. When members of the public call back the number, they will generally only hear a recorded phone message indicating which public hospital or clinic the call originated from. If necessary, staff will contact them again proactively later. The caller ID number will not be connected to the relevant public hospital or clinic. After the caller ID number transition, the phone numbers of the HA operating units remain unchanged. Members of the public may visit the HA website to check the relevant dialing numbers.
In addition, the HA also reminds members of the public that, for operational needs, some HA operating units will still retain a small number of direct landline numbers or use mobile phones to contact members of the public. For such calls, the caller ID numbers will not start with 18285 or 18286.
Photo source: Official website of HA
CE meets Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (June 10) met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Mr Kanat Bozumbayev, at Government House to exchange views on deepening co-operation between the two places. The Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan; the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau; and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip, also attended the meeting.
Mr Lee said he was pleased to meet Mr Bozumbayev for the first time and welcomed him and his delegation to Hong Kong for the Alatau City Investment Round Table event scheduled to take place tomorrow (June 11). Mr Lee noted that a business delegation comprising representatives from Hong Kong and Mainland enterprises led by himself had successfully concluded a visit to Central Asia last week and made various achievements. During his visit to Kazakhstan, Mr Lee met respectively with the President of Kazakhstan, Mr Kassym-Jomart Tokayev; the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Mr Olzhas Bektenov; and two Deputy Prime Ministers, to exchange views on topics such as finance, economic and trade relations, and innovation and technology, and to establish high-level liaison between the governments. He thanked the government of Kazakhstan for the great importance it had attached to the visit, providing high-level hospitality and meticulous arrangements for the visit. Mr Lee witnessed the signing of multiple agreements between the two sides, including eight co-operation documents at the government level and 53 co-operation agreements and Memoranda of Understanding beyond the government level, covering such areas as trade and economic co-operation, investment, finance, technology and aviation. These fruitful results have brought co-operation between the two places to a new level. Mr Lee added that he was delighted to further follow up on these outcomes with Mr Bozumbayev today, and looks forward to the continuous deepening of co-operation between the two sides in the future.
Mr Lee said that Hong Kong supports and upholds free trade and multilateralism, as it continues to deepen international exchanges and co-operation, strives to create new trade corridors, and explores emerging market opportunities. Kazakhstan is an important commercial and logistics hub connecting China and Europe. It is also the place where the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative was first proposed, and is Hong Kong's largest trading partner in Central Asia. There are broad prospects for further co-operation. The multiple outcomes achieved during Mr Lee's visit demonstrate Hong Kong's role as a functional platform for the B&R Initiative, as the city actively plays its roles as a "super connector" and "super value-adder" to promote broader and deeper co-operation between the two places and establish a hub-to-hub co-operation model. With the launch of direct flights from Hong Kong to Almaty, Kazakhstan, in the first quarter of next year, people-to-people exchanges between the two places will become even more frequent.
Mr Lee noted that Kazakhstan is promoting reforms on various fronts and driving economic diversification. It is making every effort to develop Alatau City, with a focus on technological innovation and green growth. Hong Kong harnesses its unique advantages under the "one country, two systems" principle in connecting the Mainland and the world, ranking No. 1 globally in economic freedom. Hong Kong is speeding up the development of the Northern Metropolis as the city strives to become an international innovation and technology centre. Mr Lee said he looks forward to Hong Kong and Kazakhstan achieving complementary advantages and co-ordinated development across different sectors. He welcomed enterprises in Kazakhstan to make good use of Hong Kong's premier financial and innovation and technology platforms, as well as its world-leading professional services, to explore more business opportunities. At the same time, Hong Kong will further help local and Mainland enterprises to go global and discover more opportunities, venturing into a new blue ocean in Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan.
CE meets Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
