Health Secretary Visits Redeveloped Kwai Chung Hospital, Enhancing Psychiatric Services and Community Support Initiatives.

Secretary for Health visits Kwai Chung Hospital new blocks

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, visited the redeveloped Kwai Chung Hospital (KCH) today (July 13) to learn about the facilities and operations of the hospital's new blocks.

Accompanied by the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority (HA), Dr Libby Lee; the Cluster Chief Executive of Kowloon West Cluster of the HA, Dr Alexander Law; and the Hospital Chief Executive of KCH, Dr Cheng Koi-man, Professor Lo visited facilities and relevant services including psychiatric wards and the Child and Adolescent Integrated Day Hospital to gain a better understanding of the new hospital blocks' design concepts and service vision of the "therapeutic village".

Professor Lo said, "The redeveloped KCH will provide holistic treatment for about one quarter of psychiatric patients in Hong Kong, significantly enhancing service standards and marking an important milestone in the development of mental health services in Hong Kong.

"The new blocks of KCH adopt the service concept of a 'therapeutic village'. In addition to in-patient services, it also offers recovery and community support services, enabling patients in recovery to receive various day rehabilitation services delivered by allied health and nursing teams in the hospital. These services simulate a real-life environment to facilitate their gradual reintegration into family, work and social roles. I look forward to the 'therapeutic village' contributing to reduce the patients' need for hospitalisation while serving as an important transitional hub for patients' gradual reintegration into the community, standing side by side with the patients and the recovered ones on their roads to recovery.

"Furthermore, the redeveloped KCH houses the only service block dedicated to child and adolescent services in Hong Kong, providing one-stop treatment services to psychiatric patients under 18 years old. The building designs, ward environment, as well as assessment and treatment plans are all centred on children, adolescents and their families to better serve their needs. The Government attaches great importance to the mental health of children and adolescents, and the enhancement of related services at KCH will help strengthen support for those in need."

Commissioned in 1981, KCH began redevelopment on its existing site in 2019 to upgrade the hospital facilities and align with modern psychiatric healthcare services. Specialist out-patient services have been relocated to new hospital blocks and services have been commenced by phases from late-March this year. Specialist out-patient services previously scattered across different districts will also be gradually integrated, with a view to enhancing synergy among healthcare teams. In-patient and day services will begin relocation from the old block to new blocks from the third quarter this year, and psychiatric bed capacity will also gradually increase to 1 000.

The total construction floor area of the new blocks will increase from about 80 000 square metres before redevelopment to about 134 000 sq m, providing more indoor and outdoor space for in-patients, while aiming to foster a homelike atmosphere by designing a comfortable and peaceful therapeutic environment to enhance treatment effectiveness. Together with various psychiatric support services provided by the day hospital, the new blocks will provide quality services for patients across all age groups.

Following the completion of the relocation, the hospital will commence subsequent project works to demolish the old block and construct a therapeutic/rehabilitation garden, further enhancing the hospital's therapeutic environment and providing better healthcare services to psychiatric patients in need.

Secretary for Health visits Kwai Chung Hospital new blocks Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health visits Kwai Chung Hospital new blocks Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health visits Kwai Chung Hospital new blocks Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health visits Kwai Chung Hospital new blocks Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Secretary for Health visits Kwai Chung Hospital new blocks Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Princess Margaret Hospital responds to the detection of Legionella in water samples

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

The spokesman for Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) made the following reply today (July 13) regarding The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health announced the detection of Legionella in water samples taken from PMH:

In response to a 39-year-old male patient who had stayed in the high dependency unit of the Neurosurgery Department and the Intensive Care Unit of PMH was confirmed to have Legionnaires' Disease (Serogroup 1), CHP visited PMH in late June for collecting water and environmental samples for testing. The preliminary test result showed there are four out of 25 water samples collected from Neurosurgery high dependency unit and Intensive Care Unit are tested positive for Legionella (Serogroup 1). 15 other environmental samples are tested negative for Legionella (Serogroup 1).

The hospital is very concerned about the issue and co-operating with CHP to investigate the source of infection. The hospital has implemented a series of measures to protect the health of patients and staff, including the arrangement of thorough cleaning and disinfection of relevant water supply system in the wards concerned from late June to now. CHP has conducted environmental sampling afterwards.

The hospital has conducted contact tracing investigation in accordance with the prevailing infection control guidelines. No concerned patient has been reported of Legionnaires' disease so far. The hospital has already followed the CHP's advice and implemented a series of follow-up measures, including:

1. installing bacterial filters for related water faucets in high risk wards of the same building; and
2. providing extra boiled or bottled distilled water and body wipes to related wards for patients requiring hygienic or oral care on their own.

The case has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office according to established guidelines. The hospital will also cooperate with the CHP to investigate the case. In addition to the above precautionary and improvement measures, the hospital will continue to closely monitor the situation of patients in the hospital.

Source: AI-found images