Hong Kong to expand scheme cutting stroke patient transfer time by 80 minutes

Hong Kong authorities plan to expand a pilot programme to cut the transfer time by 80 minutes for patients suffering from serious strokes to public hospitals equipped with relevant surgical facilities.The Hospital Authority said on Wednesday that the diversion programme, which was launched in December and is currently only available in the New Territories, would be gradually expanded to the whole city after sufficient data had been collected.Before the pilot scheme’s launch, ambulances would take stroke patients to the nearest public hospital with an accident and emergency department to be examined.But of the 18 hospitals with such departments, only seven are capable of treating patients suffering from serious strokes, meaning patients would need to be transferred to one of the seven institutions to receive further examinations.The seven are Tuen Mun Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kwong Wah Hospital, Queen Mary Hospital and Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital.Under the programme, patients considered by paramedics to be at risk of suffering from a more serious stroke will be sent to one of the seven hospitals, even if the institution is not the nearest one, to avoid transfers and redundant examinations.