The Macau Health Bureau’s (SSM) health station in the Macau New Neighbourhood (MNN) residential estate on Zhuhai’s Hengqin island will open this morning, after it was inaugurated by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng on Saturday.
The Macau government amended the Health Bureau’s organisational structure in September, statutorily enabling the bureau to set up, manage and operate health stations in the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, serving Macau residents living there.
An SSM statement on Saturday noted that the MNN health station, which covers an area of 1,000 square metres, provides Macau residents with health services in compliance with the operation model of Macau’s public health centres.
In the first phase of its operation which starts today, according to the statement, the MNN health station will provide walk-in outpatient diagnosis and treatment for common chronic diseases such as high blood pressure as well as common acute diseases such as the common cold.
The same as Macau’s public health centres, doctors at the MNN health station will refer patients needing specialist medical services to Macau’s public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre or the Macao Union Hospital in south Cotai.
In case of urgent medical conditions, according to the statement, patients seeking treatment at the MNN health station will be taken to the branch hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University in Hengqin for emergency treatment, after which they can choose to continue undergoing follow-up treatment there, or to be transferred back to hospitals in Macau for follow-up treatment provided that doctors conclude that their medical conditions are suitable for the transfer.
Liu Liqun, who heads the Guangdong Province Health Commission (from left to right), Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, Central People’s Government Liaison Office in Macau Director Zheng Xincong, Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long, and SSM Deputy Director Cheang Seng Ip unveil the inaugural plaque of the health station in the Macau New Neighbourhood (MNN) residential estate on Zhuhai’s Hengqin island on Saturday. – Photo: SSM
According to the statement, the MNN health station operates from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. between Mondays and Thursdays, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Fridays. The same as Macau’s public health centres, the MNN health station is closed on Macau’s public holidays.
The health station, located on Level 1 of Tower 14 of the MNN estate, was inaugurated on Saturday morning where its inaugural plaque was jointly unveiled by Ho as well as Central People’s Government Liaison Office in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Director Zheng Xincong, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U, Liu Liqun, who heads the Guangdong Province Health Commission, Macau Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long, and SSM Deputy Director Cheang Seng Ip.
According to the statement, some other 60 representatives attended the MNN health station’s inauguration ceremony, including government officials, health workers, and members of community associations from the mainland and Macau.
Delivering a speech during the ceremony, Dr Lo noted that the MNN health station is one of the important projects required by the Master Plan of the Development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone.
The health chief pointed out that the MNN health station is the first medical institution set up by the MSAR government in the mainland, which is also directly operated and managed by the Macau Health Bureau.
Dr Lo said that the MNN health station’s operational start will extend Macau’s public healthcare services to Hengqin, enabling Macau residents living there to enjoy medical services similar to the ones in Macau.
The health chief said that the MNN health station’s operational start highlights a new practice of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle concerning healthcare services, as well as a concrete example of Macau integrating its development into the nation’s overall development.
The Macau Health Bureau has sent seven of its health workers to operate the MNN health station, comprising two doctors, two nurses, two pharmacists and one nursing assistant.
The statement also noted that the Guangdong Provincial Medical Products Administration (GDMPA) has granted permission for 296 pharmaceutical products currently used in Macau to be prescribed by the MNN health station.
The statement underlined that the MNN health station’s information system is directly connected, through a network of exclusive cables, to the Macau Health Bureau’s servers installed in the MSAR where all patients’ clinical information processed in the MNN health station will be stored.
