Hospital body to use 18285 and 18286 phone numbers to help people identify calls

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority will begin using standard prefixes for telephone numbers to make it easier for people to recognise its calls rather than avoiding them due to scammers and advertisers.Starting next Tuesday, all phone calls made by the authority, which oversees public medical facilities, will display a unified caller ID number beginning with 18285 or 18286.Each authority unit will be assigned a seven-digit number from 1828 500 to 1828 599 or from 1828 600 to 1828 699.An authority spokesman said on Monday that the move was designed to help the public clearly identify genuine calls, reducing the risk of people refusing to answer because of worries about telemarketing or scams – and even missing urgent calls from accident and emergency departments or hospital wards.The transition will be rolled out in phases, with different operating units switching over at different times.“We encourage members of the public who often use public hospital services to save the new caller ID numbers in their mobile contacts. This can help avoid misunderstandings and ensure important calls are answered,” the spokesman added.