The Hong Kong Fire Services Department has said paramedics will operate on the “if in doubt, rescue first” principle when determining whether to resuscitate patients in need after the new law on end-of-life directives takes effect next week. Assistant Chief Ambulance Officer Gary Tong Sze-ho of the Fire Services Department said on Friday that rescuers…
Hong Kong’s new legislation on end-of-life directives could create significant operational challenges, including verifying patients’ wishes in emergencies and affordability barriers for low-income families, according to frontline responders and patient advocates. The warnings come a week before the Advance Decision on Life-sustaining Treatment Ordinance takes effect next Friday. Under the law, a formal legal framework…
Hongkongers will be able to upload orders specifying which life-sustaining treatments they do not wish to receive when terminally ill to the city’s electronic health record platform from next Friday, when the new law comes into effect. The move marks a significant step in formalising end-of-life care arrangements, more than 20 months after the Advance…
The Coroner’s Court has ruled that a premature baby born at a Hong Kong public hospital died of natural causes, after an inquest into her death revealed that a tube delivering medicine had remained closed for 30 minutes despite repeated checks by staff. The baby girl, Angel Yu Pui-fei, was born in June 2023 at…
Hong Kong health authorities have made an urgent appeal for a heart transplant for a six-month-old boy in a critical condition, saying the Hospital Authority will also seek assistance from mainland China soon. An authority spokesman said on Tuesday evening that six-month-old Rufus, who suffers from dilated cardiomyopathy and is in the paediatric intensive care…
Charities applying for this year’s round of funding from Operation Santa Claus (OSC) aim to tackle the root causes of Hong Kong’s problems and create a lasting impact that goes beyond the financial support period, organisers have said. OSC, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent annual charity fundraising campaigns, received 102 funding applications by its…
The number of disciplinary cases involving intern and resident doctors in Hong Kong’s public hospitals has nearly tripled over four years, with lawmakers calling for stronger safeguards to uphold professional standards. Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau revealed on Wednesday that the Hospital Authority recorded 35 disciplinary cases involving intern and resident doctors for poor performance…
Hong Kong’s third medical school has recruited about 300 teachers and expects its annual student intake to eventually rise from 50 to more than 200, its dean has revealed. Professor King Li King-chuen, founding dean of medicine at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, also said on Saturday that the medical school had…
A 16-year-old boy remains in a critical condition with a suspected brain haemorrhage after he was believed to have been knocked from behind by a classmate while climbing through a classroom window at his school, the South China Morning Post has learned. The Education Bureau said on Saturday that it was “deeply concerned” about the…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The parents of a 13-year-old Hong Kong girl critically in need of a new heart and lungs have appealed to the public in hopes of a “miracle”, with the girl fearing she “won’t be…