Secretary for Health Chairs 4th Meeting of Steering Committee on Health and Medical Innovation Development, Advancing Medical Innovation

Secretary for Health chairs fourth meeting of Steering Committee on Health and Medical Innovation Development

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, chaired the fourth meeting of the Steering Committee on Health and Medical Innovation Development today (August 5) to discuss the strategies for developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub, as well as the continued efforts in driving clinical trial development. Members also offered advice on the future development of the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute (GBAICTI).

At the meeting, members were briefed by the GBAICTI, the Hospital Authority (HA), the Department of Health, medical schools and the Health Bureau (HHB) on the work taken forward and the latest progress on various measures to support clinical trial development. A representative of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology School of Medicine also attended the meeting for the first time. Since its establishment in November 2024, the GBAICTI has been making steady progress on a number of fronts, including the launch of a centralised processing mechanism for clinical study agreement templates with the HA and the University of Hong Kong Clinical Trials Centre to standardise relevant procedures across public hospitals and universities. This is to expedite trial initiations and provide one-stop support for clinical trial opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) enterprises through setting up the Greater Bay Area Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform under the "one institute, one center" model with Shenzhen. The Good Clinical Practice(ICH GCP E6(R3)) also came into effect on June 30 this year, further aligning Hong Kong's clinical trials with international standards. Members endorsed the relevant directions of work and offered constructive comments.

Professor Lo said, "I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Steering Committee members for their invaluable insights. The Policy Address has set out clearly the Government's policy objective of developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub. The HHB will complement technological innovation with institutional innovation and further reform the medical and healthcare systems, making every effort to advance Hong Kong's development into an international health and medical innovation hub.

"Clinical trials form an important foundation of health and medical innovation. Hong Kong possesses the institutional advantages of the 'one country, two systems' framework, high-quality healthcare professionals and technologies, and unique advantages of high compatibility with international standards. Through the GBAICTI, we will co-ordinate clinical trial resources in the public and private sectors to enhance Hong Kong's clinical trial capability and efficiency on all fronts, as well as to foster co-ordinated development with other GBA cities, with a view to attracting more local, Mainland and overseas pharmaceutical and medical device enterprises to conduct R&D and clinical trials in Hong Kong. This will enable patients to benefit from the most advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies at an early stage, thereby achieving the goal of bringing the benefits of good drugs and R&D to Hong Kong, while spurring the development of advanced biomedical technology industries," he emphasised.

Chaired by the Secretary for Health, the Steering Committee on Health and Medical Innovation Development comprises members from relevant government bureaux and departments, institutions and local medical schools. The Steering Committee is responsible for co-ordinating and advancing work related to health and medical innovation, with a view to further taking forward the policy measures of developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub as set out in the Policy Address.

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau (third left), chairs the fourth meeting of the Steering Committee on Health and Medical Innovation Development today (August 5) to discuss the strategies for developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub, as well as the continued efforts in driving clinical trial development. The Permanent Secretary for Health, Mr Thomas Chan (second left); the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Cecilia Fan (fourth left); the Controller of Regulatory Affairs of the Department of Health, Dr Fung Ying (first left); and the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Dr Libby Lee (fifth left), also attended. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Suspected use of fraudulent life-saving attendant certificate at private housing estate's swimming pool in Happy Valley

A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (August 6) that a life-saving attendant at the licensed swimming pool of a private housing estate, located at 1-5 Ventris Road, Happy Valley, is suspected of using a fraudulent life-saving attendant certificate. As the qualification of the life-saving attendant is in doubt and the swimming pool has allegedly failed to provide a sufficient number of qualified life-saving attendants as required by law, the FEHD has ordered the immediate closure of the pool and is considering prosecuting its licensee. The incident has been reported to the Police, and the FEHD has also notified the Property Management Services Authority to take parallel follow-up action.

Officers from the FEHD yesterday (August 5) verified a batch of lifeguard records with the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society (HKCLSS), and received the verification result today. It is discovered that the credentials of a life-saving attendant on duty at the aforementioned swimming pool yesterday did not match the records of the HKCLSS. The FEHD immediately took action regarding the pool.

The spokesman stressed, "Swimming pool licensees must strictly comply with the Swimming Pools Regulation (Cap. 132CA) and the licensing conditions, ensuring that sufficient qualified life-saving attendants are on duty during the opening hours of the pool. The FEHD will continue to implement various regulatory measures, including stepping up surprise inspections and increasing the frequency of spot checks during the peak swimming season."

Since May 2025, the FEHD has implemented a series of enhancement measures, including stepping up surprise inspections, clearly stipulating the responsibility of licensees to verify the qualifications of life-saving attendants, introducing a tiered penalty mechanism, and strengthening collaboration with relevant organisations. From January to the end of July this year, officers from the FEHD had conducted about 7 000 inspections of over 1 400 licensed private swimming pools across the territory, and had verified the qualifications of about 2 100 life-saving attendants through the HKCLSS. According to the records, since the implementation of enhanced regulatory measures in 2025, the FEHD also discovered a case involving the suspected employment of unqualified life-saving attendants on duty in 2025.

To ensure that licensees fulfil their responsibilities properly, the FEHD explicitly requires them through licensing conditions to verify the identity documents of life-saving attendants before employment, and to keep copies of their Pool Lifeguard Awards and personal logbooks on proper record. The FEHD has also established a standard template of life-saving attendants' duty records. Licensees are required to clearly record the relevant information of life-saving attendants on duty in accordance with the prescribed format, and the records have to be verified and signed by both the inspecting staff assigned by the licensees and the life-saving attendants. FEHD officers will check the relevant records as necessary during inspections or complaint investigations, and will follow up on any violations.

In addition, the FEHD will continue to maintain close collaboration with relevant organisations and regulatory bodies to enhance compliance with the regulatory measures. This includes sustaining close liaison with the HKCLSS and making good use of its mechanism for verifying life-saving attendants' qualifications, and strengthening co-operation with the Property Management Services Authority to require property management companies to exercise strict gatekeeping over the recruitment procedures of life-saving attendants.

The FEHD will continue to implement the relevant measures straightly to enhance the safety standards of licensed swimming pools and safeguard the safety of swimming pool users. Members of the public are called on to take part in the monitoring and report suspected cases of irregularities to the department.

Source: AI-found images