Closer ties: Centre for Health Protection Controller Dr Leung Pak-yin and Health Protection Agency of England & Wales Chief Executive Professor Pat Troop sign a Memorandum of Understanding.

The Centre for Health Protection has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Health Protection Agency of England & Wales for stronger links between the two bodies to protect public health.

The MOU is the first agreement between the centre and an overseas health authority on the launch of collaborative initiatives in training, attachment programmes, contingency planning, research and development as well as other health protection projects.

Centre Controller Dr Leung Pak-yin and the agency's head Professor Pat Troop signed the document at a ceremony today.

Public health milestone

Officiating at the signing ceremony, Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong said the agreement is an epoch-making event in Hong Kong's public health history.

Noting the SARS epidemic had underlined the need to strengthen inter-agency collaboration, Dr Yeoh said the institutional arrangements for the centre are designed on the basis of a collaborative approach to health protection.

"On the international front, the centre will build on the network the Department of Health has developed with international and overseas health agencies over the years," he said.

"It will seek to reach MOUs with overseas health agencies where there is a mutual commitment to develop more substantive collaborative arrangements."

A multi-skilled workforce

In the domestic setting, the centre will thrive on a multi-skilled workforce with talent drawn from a range of departments and agencies within and outside the administration.

Health protection programmes bringing together experts from different sectors and professions will be set up to tackle community health hazards.

Dr Yeoh said: "The Communicable Disease Information System is our next milestone. We shall seek funds to build a common information technology platform to facilitate information sharing on communicable disease surveillance between the centre, the Hospital Authority and eventually with private hospitals and practitioners and non-healthcare institutions."

Increased interaction

Director of Health Dr Lam Ping-yan said there will be increased interaction between the two health agencies in disease surveillance, emergency response, epidemiological investigation, hospital infection control and the use of information technology for the enhancement of disease control.

Arrangements will be made for both parties to participate in developing Laboratory External Quality Assurance and an Internal Quality Control System.

There will also be staff secondment for training and cross fertilisation of experience.

Liaison with more overseas agencies underway

Apart from collaborating with England and Wales, the centre is also liaising with the Ministry of Health of Singapore on similar activities.

"The centre has also established a communication network with other national health authorities including the US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention and Health Canada on the exchange of public health intelligence," Dr Lam said.

"We will continue to explore collaboration opportunities with other overseas public health authorities."