Enhanced efficiency: Hospital Authority Chief Executive Dr William Ho and Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong visit the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital to see the application of information technology in the hospital's dispensary system.

The proposed redevelopment of Prince of Wales Hospital is cost-effective and will offer better opportunities for future expansion and technology upgrades.

This was the message from Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong who visited the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital today.

Options considered

Dr Yeoh said the Hospital Authority and the Architectural Services Department have considered both refurbishment and redevelopment options in their assessment.

"Obviously, this is the initial study that has been done, we have accepted this study in principle. We are going to have more detailed work to understand the two options better and to see what development options are the best," he said.

"These are preliminary studies that have been done and we will be obviously looking at the options very carefully because the amount of money involved is very substantial. But the most important thing is obviously looking at the two options and see which is more cost-effective."

Funds sought

The Government will brief legislators before seeking funds from the Finance Committee.

Dr Yeoh also revealed that a funding proposal will be submitted to the Legislative Council for the development of a Communicable Disease Information System.

The system, which is a critical tool for the Centre for Health Protection, will enable both the public and private sector to perform the critical functions of disease surveillance, including case notification, timely alert and early detection of emerging infectious diseases.

The Government will continue enhancing information management capacity to strengthen Hong Kong's ability to prevent and control infectious disease, he said.