Pilot scheme for cross-border ambulance transfers to Hong Kong begins on Saturday

Patients in Shenzhen and Macau can take ambulances directly to Hong Kong public hospitals under a pilot scheme that launches on Saturday, with healthcare professionals on both sides conducting a joint assessment to avoid abuse of the service.

Health authorities said on Friday that the pilot scheme, which will run for a year, was aimed at fostering deeper collaboration in the Greater Bay Area.

“[The pilot scheme] marks a new height in high-quality medical collaboration and development in the Greater Bay Area while addressing the earnest anticipation of residents in the [area],” health minister Lo Chung-mau said.

The bay area is Beijing’s plan to link Hong and Macau with nine southern mainland Chinese cities to create an economic powerhouse.

Under the scheme, patients who are deemed non-emergency or non-critically ill, and with specific clinical needs and conditions, can be transferred from the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital on the mainland or the Conde de Sao Januario General Hospital in Macau, to designated public hospitals in Hong Kong.

The Health Bureau said in a reply to the Post that patients in general would be sent to Tuen Mun Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital, which were closest to the border control points near the Shenzhen and Macau hospitals. But authorities would also review each case to make a suitable decision.