On-site staff, hotline deployed as Kai Tak Hospital starts phased operations

Hong Kong health authorities will deploy on-site staff and step up support via a dedicated hotline for patients visiting Kai Tak Hospital amid booking and transport queries as the city’s largest public hospital begins its phased opening.

From Monday, Kai Tak Hospital’s family medicine integrated centre will start operations, while specialist outpatient services and automated features in the hospital’s blood-taking services are scheduled to launch in late October.

Dr Eric Cheung Fuk-chi, cluster chief executive of Kowloon Central and hospital chief executive of Kai Tak Hospital, said services would be rolled out in a “gradual approach”.

“This is the largest hospital relocation in Hong Kong’s history. As a result, we must proceed with caution to ensure that patient care and service quality remain entirely unaffected,” Cheung said.

The family medicine centre, which opens on Monday, will treat about 350 outpatients daily: 100 existing patients from the public hospital system, plus 250 additional slots for the general public.

The centre handles patients with relatively mild conditions such as flu or gastroenteritis, as well as those with episodic or chronic diseases. It also offers vaccinations and general nursing care.

Equipped with a dedicated pharmacy, the centre can operate fully independently. Nutrition and occupational therapy services will also be launched on Monday.

To assist the public, a task force has been set up to contact patients about the new arrangements, while a hotline will be available seven days a week to answer queries.

Staff in blue vests will be stationed at the lobby and clinical departments from Monday to help patients on the ground.

Specialist outpatient services will be rolled out in phases from late October. The blood-taking station, also starting in late October, features an automatic specimen transport system that dispenses tubes automatically, cutting blood collection time to within five minutes.

The clinical oncology day centre will commence service in November.

The hospital also houses the city’s largest pharmacy. With 21 counters, it will introduce an automated dispensing system in the first phase of 2027, slashing medication waiting time to an average of 30 minutes.

Kai Tak Hospital, a new 2,400-bed facility with 37 operating theatres, is set to take over services from Queen Elizabeth Hospital and become a healthcare hub for Kowloon.

Spanning a total gross floor area of 500,000 square metres, the hospital complex comprises five blocks.

The specialist outpatient clinic block, where the family medicine centre is located, and the oncology block are scheduled to commence services in the coming months.

The remaining three blocks, covering acute services, administration, and education and training, form the facility’s second phase, with major clinical services including in-patient, surgical, and accident and emergency services available in 2028.