Budget Speech

Medical Services

104.      On medical services, we reserved four sites at Wong Chuk Hang, Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Lantau for private hospital development, and received 30 development proposals from local and overseas institutions. We are formulating the arrangements to dispose of the sites in phases starting from end-2011 or 2012.

105.      To promote research and development in public health and medical services, the Food and Health Bureau plans to set up a “Health and Medical Research Fund”. The existing Health and Health Services Research Fund and Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases will be subsumed under the new Fund. To this end, the Government will earmark $1 billion for injection into the new Fund. Apart from continuing to fund projects within the original research ambits, the new Fund will also finance research projects and facilities in areas of advanced medical research where Hong Kong enjoys comparative advantages, such as paediatrics, neuroscience and clinical genetics. This will tie in with the plan for a Centre of Excellence in Paediatrics and development of other specialties in the future.

106.      Hong Kong is well-placed to develop into an international clinical trial centre and a translational research centre. To advance the development of the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries, the Hospital Authority (HA) will set up Phase I clinical trial centres in Queen Mary and Prince of Wales Hospitals to conduct preliminary clinical trials for new drugs, with a capital cost of about $42 million. The clinical trial centre in Prince of Wales Hospital is expected to come into operation first in 2011-12. We will also map out our way forward for different phases of clinical trials for drugs, and strengthen the organisation, management and planning for clinical trials to promote development in this area.

107.      The above measures will help attract more relevant professionals to Hong Kong, lay the foundation of advanced medical research here and provide more training opportunities. A range of scientific research-related jobs, such as professional researchers, scientists, medical technology professionals and pharmacists, will also be created.

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