The Government published in the Gazette today (Aug. 16) the drill arrangement for the Pilot Scheme for Direct Cross-boundary Ambulance Transfer in the Greater Bay Area (the Pilot Scheme) and the plan to launch the one-year Pilot Scheme within this year.

The Pilot Scheme will first roll out the arrangement of direct ambulance transfer from designated hospitals in Shenzhen and Macao to designated public hospitals in Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government will conduct drills in collaboration with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government to trial the cross-boundary ambulance arrangement without patients on board before the official launch of the Pilot Scheme.

The HKSAR Government also announced the exemption of designated Shenzhen cross-boundary ambulances from the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374E) (the Regulations) during a specified period, under regulation 3(c) of the Regulations to facilitate the drill arrangement. Meanwhile, the HKSAR Government is also in discussion with the Macao SAR Government on relevant drill arrangement.

The cross-boundary ambulance mechanism will only be activated when a prior agreement between the sending hospital and the receiving hospital has been reached in advance, with the medical needs, safety and interests of patients as the prime concerns while avoiding abuse of the mechanism. Subject to the effectiveness and operational experience of the Pilot Scheme, relevant government departments will consider whether and how to expand the Scheme, such as including more designated hospitals and/or extending the Scheme to a two-way arrangement.

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