A high-level emergency response command centre has been set up by Hospital Authority (HA) to bring together the Head Office and the top decision makers of the seven hospital clusters, so as to integrate "decision making, command, coordination and execution" capabilities in the event of major incidents.
The fifth wave of the epidemic in HK is showing signs of rebound, with 2004 cases confirmed yesterday (June 29), reaching 2,000 after a gap of two months.
According to the HA, through unified command and control, and by making good use of inter-cluster support to complement each other, it will be possible to break through geographical boundaries in terms of bed and manpower mobilization, so that "beds can wait for people".
The newly established emergency response command centre will also help strengthen HA's coordination and liaison with different government departments and non-government organizations (NGOs), and enable prompt coordination with different organizations to support the admission of patients to public hospitals.
In addition, HA has made efforts to increase the bed mobilization capacity of public hospitals and clusters by acquiring about 1,000 high-flow nasal catheter oxygen machines, which will help cope with the large number of patients with serious conditions requiring oxygen therapy.
Comment