Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ13: Public hospital redevelopment/expansion projects
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Joseph Lee and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today
(October 26):
Question:
With the ever-increasing demand for medical services by residents in Hong Kong,
many public hospitals require expeditious redevelopment or expansion as their
space is no longer sufficient to cope with such demand, and their design also
fails to meet the operational needs. In this connection, will the Government
inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) which public hospitals will be redeveloped/expanded in the coming five
years, the order of priority and the factors to be considered by the authorities
in determining such order of priority;
(b) the progress of the redevelopment/expansion projects in (a), as well as a
list of the respective dates of application for funding and the expected dates
of commencement and completion of the various works projects;
(c) the breakdown of the cost estimates of various redevelopment/expansion
projects, the breakdown of the cost estimate for conducting
redevelopment/expansion works in each of the public hospital concerned, and the
total estimated costs for various works projects;
(d) the anticipated numbers of additional hospital beds and increase in patient
attendance after completion of the redevelopment/expansion projects of various
public hospitals; and
(e) whether the authorities will increase the manpower of nursing staff and
allied health staff accordingly after the various public hospitals have been
redeveloped/expanded; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for
that?
Reply:
President,
(a) A number of hospital redevelopment/expansion projects are underway and will
be completed in the coming few years. These include the Expansion of Tseung Kwan
O Hospital (TKOH), the Redevelopment of Caritas Medical Centre (CMC) Phase 2 and
the Redevelopment of Yan Chai Hospital (YCH). In addition, the Administration is
also preparing for the Expansion of United Christian Hospital (UCH) and planning
for the Reprovisioning of Yaumatei Specialist Clinic (YMTSC) at Queen Elizabeth
Hospital (QEH).
Apart from carrying out redevelopment/expansion projects of existing hospitals,
the Administration will also construct new hospitals as necessary to address the
demand for healthcare services. Hospital under construction includes the North
Lantau Hospital Phase 1, and new hospitals under preparation include the Tin
Shui Wai Hospital and the Centre of Excellence in Paediatrics at Kai Tak
Development Area. The North Lantau Hospital Phase 1 is scheduled for completion
in 2012, and the other two hospitals will be completed in 2016.
In determining the order of priority for the development of new hospitals and
the redevelopment/expansion of various hospitals, the Administration will take
into account the future population growth and ageing in the region, the demand
for healthcare services, the overall provision of healthcare services in the
various clusters under the Hospital Authority (HA), as well as the development
of public and private healthcare services.
(b) Information of the three ongoing redevelopment/expansion projects is shown
in Annex.
In the 2011-12 Policy Address, the Government has announced the preparation for
the Expansion of UCH. It is estimated that funding approval will be sought from
the Legislative Council (LegCo) in mid-2012 for the preparatory works. Besides,
the Administration has also planned for the Reprovisioning of YMTSC at QEH. A
"design and build" approach will be adopted for this project, and tendering
procedures will commence before seeking funding approval from the LegCo which
will be based on the tender price. It is estimated that funding approval will be
sought from the LegCo in 2013 with a view to completing the project in 2016.
(c) The cost estimates of the three ongoing redevelopment/expansion projects are
as follows:
Project Title
Estimated Expenditure($M)
Expansion of TKOH
1,944.9
Redevelopment of CMC Phase 2
1,719.6
Redevelopment of YCH
590.5
According to the preliminary estimate, the entire project of the Expansion of
UCH will cost over $7 billion, and the Reprovisioning of YMTSC at QEH will cost
about $1.4 billion.
(d) Upon completion of the Expansion of TKOH, an additional 178 in-patient beds
and 22 consultation rooms in the specialist out-patient (SOP) department will be
provided. If the manpower of healthcare professionals permits, it is expected
that the annual capacity of SOP attendances will increase up to about 80,000.
Besides, upon completion of the Redevelopment of CMC Phase 2, an additional 53
in-patient beds, 32 day beds and 20 Geriatric Day Hospital places will be
provided. The redeveloped CMC will be able to handle a maximum of about 600,000
out-patient attendances annually. In other words, the annual out-patient
attendances will increase by about 270,000.
Although no additional beds will be provided upon completion of the
Redevelopment of YCH, with an increase in the number of consultation rooms from
36 to 54, the capacity of the general out-patient clinic and specialist
out-patient clinic will be increased and the service capacity will be enhanced
by up to 50%.
Preparation for the Expansion of UCH and the Reprovisioning of YMTSC at QEH is
still underway. We will make a more detailed estimate on the numbers of
additional beds and attendances to be provided after completion of these
redevelopment/expansion projects when we are about to seek funding approval.
(e) To cope with the service demand, HA will deploy and gradually increase
manpower having regard to the service needs, development of technology,
completion of new hospitals, expansion and redevelopment of the existing
hospitals, staff turnover, as well as the overall provision of healthcare
services in the various clusters etc. Meanwhile, the number of staff that would
be recruited is also affected by the manpower mobility among HA, private
hospitals, social welfare and rehabilitation sectors. HA will conduct an annual
review on the requirement for additional manpower. For example, recruitment of
about 1,700 nurses and 590 allied health staff is planned for 2011-12.
Ends/Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:48
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