* Total inpatient, day patient discharges and deaths
With new development areas abound in the Tuen Mun and Yuen Long districts, it is anticipated that the total population and service demand will rise further. To better manage growing service demand, initiatives were implemented during the year to increase service capacity. A total of 118 additional beds were opened to cater for more inpatient need of local residents, with 40 acute beds in TMH and POH respectively and 38 convalescent beds in TMH.
Service for day patient and outpatient were improved. The Electro-Medical Diagnostic Units (EDU) at TMH and POH were revamped with a new Combined Endoscopy and EDU Centre opened at TMH in January 2014, providing a total of 24 additional sessions of endoscopy and electro-medical diagnostic services per week. The capacity of renal replacement therapy was also expanded to provide four more patients with hospital haemodialysis service. Episodic quotas of 12,000 attendances were added to general outpatient clinics to improve access to public primary care services for target population groups. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment was provided to 60 new age-related macular degeneration cases and 500 new cases of diabetic related eye diseases.
The core value of ‘people FIRST’ was enlivened with emphasis on staff recruitment and training. Some of the programmes included training for 100 new registered nurses at TMH nursing school, recruitment of additional nurses to meet operational needs at acute settings and high pressure areas, and recruitment of more frontline allied health professionals to enhance support for patients requiring multi-disciplinary care and rehabilitation.
NTWC accords high significance to service quality and safety. The cancer diagnostic service was enhanced with more predictive molecular tests for lung, breast, and colorectal cancers provided. Minimally invasive surgery technique was introduced in hysterectomy surgeries for suitable gynaecological patients. The radio frequency identification system was further rolled out to POH mortuary to ensure accurate body identification and flow control.
Tin Shui Wai Hospital, a new hospital of NTWC, is anticipated to commission service in phases from 2016-17 onwards. A commissioning team was set up in the year to coordinate planning and preparatory works.