Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau, with member of the CPC Shenzhen Standing Committee and Shenzhen Party Leadership Group Chen Qing and his delegation, attended a ceremony today to witness Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) become the second hospital in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region accredited under China's International Hospital Accreditation Standards (2021 Version).

In his speech, Prof Lo said that following the accreditation of Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital under the standards as the first such hospital in the Hong Kong SAR in December last year, the successful accreditation of PWH today once again demonstrates that the management, services and medical quality of Hong Kong's public hospitals are on par with international standards.

He highlighted that accreditation under the standards can promote not only continuous improvements at various hospitals, but also uniformity of the healthcare quality in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), hence providing residents of the GBA with international and homogenous healthcare services.

The health chief added that it further signifies that this set of hospital accreditation standards - formulated by the country and in line with international standards - has accelerated its development outside the Mainland and is steadily going global.

Prof Lo then had a meeting with Mr Chen to exchange views on medical and healthcare co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and to explore ways to further promote the development of the accreditation under the standards.

After the meeting, Prof Lo and Mr Chen witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation of Promoting International Accreditation for Hong Kong Public Hospitals in 2025 (MOU).

Prof Lo noted that the signing of the MOU between the Hospital Authority and the Shenzhen Hospital Accreditation Research Center today signified the implementation of another co-operation initiative between Hong Kong and Shenzhen for the promotion of healthcare integration and innovation in the GBA.

He added that it also demonstrates the Hong Kong SAR, as the super connector and super value-adder, harnesses the institutional strengths of “one country, two systems” to fully leverage its influence and professional advantages in the internationalisation of medical and healthcare areas, facilitating the national standards to go global, while building a “Healthy Hong Kong” for integration into a “Healthy Bay Area” and making contributions to a “Healthy China”.