Author Archives: hksar gov

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

　　The spokesperson for the Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) today (January 21) announced a sentinel event as follows:
 
　　A 40-year-old male patient was transferred from Shatin Hospital to PWH in the afternoon on January 19 due to respiratory distress and he was admitted to the surgical ward.
 
　　The patient underwent a bronchoscopy procedure at around 8.40pm. At 9.45pm, a doctor found a pair of blood-stained scissors and a letter to relatives next to the patient. The patient was unconscious and developed cardiac arrest. Resuscitation was immediately performed and four stab wounds were found on the patient’s left chest wall. The patient regained a heartbeat after resuscitation.
 
　　The patient’s family was contacted and notified of the incident. The patient finally succumbed and was certified dead at 11.39pm. The incident was reported to the Police and the case referred to the Coroner. The Hospital will co-operate in the follow-up investigation.
 
　　The Hospital is deeply saddened by the incident and will maintain close contact with the patient’s family to provide them with the necessary support. The case has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office via the Advance Incident Reporting System.
 
　　A Root Cause Analysis Panel will be set up to look into the incident and propose recommendations. read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (January 21) reported a suspected case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of the health risks in the places they visit. The case is detailed below:
 

Sex	Female
Age	24
Affected area involved	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
High-risk exposure	Nil
Hospital	Princess Margaret Hospital
Condition	Stable
MERS-Coronavirus preliminary test result	Negative

     “Travellers to the Middle East should avoid going to farms, barns or markets with camels; avoid contact with sick persons and animals, especially camels, birds or poultry; and avoid unnecessary visits to healthcare facilities. We strongly advise travel agents organising tours to the Middle East to abstain from arranging camel rides and activities involving direct contact with camels, which are known risk factors for acquiring MERS Coronavirus (MERS-CoV),” a spokesman for the CHP said.

     Locally, the CHP’s surveillance with public and private hospitals, with practising doctors and at boundary control points is firmly in place. Inbound travellers and members of the public who recently visited the Middle East and developed fever or lower respiratory symptoms within 14 days will be classified as suspected MERS cases. They will be taken to public hospitals for isolation and management until their specimens test negative for MERS-CoV.

     Travellers to affected areas should maintain vigilance, adopt appropriate health precautions and take heed of personal, food and environmental hygiene. The public may visit the MERS pages of the CHP and its Travel Health Service, MERS statistics in affected areas, the CHP’s Facebook Page and YouTube Channel, and the World Health Organization’s latest news for more information and health advice. Tour leaders and tour guides operating overseas tours are advised to refer to the CHP’s health advice on MERS. read more

     The latest test results of the opening-up investigation in the second stage of the holistic assessment strategy for the Hung Hom Station Extension under the Shatin to Central Link (SCL) project (as at January 21) are now available at the Highways Department’s website for the SCL project (www.hyd.gov.hk/en/road_and_railway/railway_projects/scl/index.html) for reference by the public. read more

     â€‹The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, visited Kowloon City District this afternoon (January 21) and exchanged views with District Council members on environmental issues. He also called at a secondary school in the district and at Trade and Industry Tower in the Kai Tak Development Area (KTDA) to learn more about its green facilities.
      
     Accompanied by the Chairman of the Kowloon City District Council (KCDC), Mr Pun Kwok-wah, and the District Officer (Kowloon City), Mr Franco Kwok, Mr Wong first visited a secondary school in the district to learn about the achievements of environmental research projects carried out by its students, including scientific analysis on tree monitoring and energy systems. During the visit, Mr Wong chatted with students and environmental ambassadors to learn more about their studies and green activities at school. He also encouraged them to continue practising energy saving and waste reduction in their daily lives to foster a low-carbon lifestyle.
      
     Mr Wong then visited Trade and Industry Tower in the KTDA. In line with the concept of sustainable development, the tower is well equipped with energy-saving facilities and greening, plus the adoption of renewable energy technology. It is anticipated that the total electricity consumption of the tower will be about one-fourth less than that of a normal office building. The office tower has achieved the Platinum rating under BEAM Plus and the Platinum level under the LEED certificate programme of the United States, i.e. the highest level of green building certification under the local and international systems. The overall greening ratio is over 40 per cent.
      
     Mr Wong also called at Kai Tak Community Hall to see its various energy-saving and greening facilities. The green roof of the hall is equipped with solar-tracking optical fibre light pipes to divert daylight for indoor lighting, thereby saving energy.
      
     Before concluding his itinerary, Mr Wong paid a visit to the KCDC to meet with Mr Pun and District Council members to listen to their views on the Government’s environmental policies and learn more about their concerns on district environmental issues. read more

     The Labour Department (LD) is highly concerned about the recent spate of serious accidents related to work-at-height in the construction industry and reminds those working at height to pay special attention to work safety.

     A spokesman for the LD said today (January 21), “Four workers fell and unfortunately died while working at height in the past few weeks. The LD is highly concerned about the situation. Apart from issuing Work Safety Alerts and Suspension Notices to stop the related work processes, the LD has launched a special enforcement operation focusing particularly on high-risk operations such as scaffolding work.”

     “The LD, jointly with the Occupational Safety and Health Council and other stakeholders of the industry, is actively organising a seminar on work-at-height safety. We will invite various stakeholder groups from the construction industry to take part in order to alert them to the potential risks involved in work-at-height and remind them of the necessary safety measures. Furthermore, the Department will continue to promote work-at-height safety messages through various media channels and platforms,” the spokesman added.

     To prevent workers from falling from height while working, employers shall appoint a competent person to conduct task-specific risk assessments to identify all potential hazards associated with the work, taking into account the nature of work and the work environment and, according to the results of the risk assessments, formulate safe systems of work which comply with the relevant safety legislation. Main considerations include:
          

• Ladders should generally be used for ascending and descending only. Using them for other work is unsafe and should be avoided;
   
• Provide workers with suitable working platforms and ensure their proper use by workers. Use of boatswain’s chairs is strictly prohibited;
   
• Workers should put on suitable safety harnesses, which shall be attached continuously to a suitable and secure anchor point, an independent lifeline or a fall-arresting system, when erecting, dismantling and using a truss-out bamboo scaffold; and
   
• Safeguard all unprotected floor openings or other void spaces at construction sites by erecting suitable guard-rails or placing coverings to prevent workers from falling through them inadvertently.

     Both employers and employees are responsible for ensuring work safety to prevent accidents from happening. Employers are required to comply with the relevant safety regulations and implement safety systems of work, including providing workers with sufficient safety equipment and ensuring its proper use by workers. At the same time, workers are also required to follow the safety work procedures as stipulated by employers, including proper use of safety equipment. Workers should report any unsafe working condition to the LD (telephone number: 2542 2172) as soon as possible.  The LD will take follow-up action as soon as possible to ensure workers’ safety. read more