ENG-2014 — Page 196

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Health

protection of public health. In the financial year 2013-14, it spent $200 million on providing analytical services for the protection of public health.

In 2014, a total of 194,986 tests were carried out on a wide range of foods to ensure they were fit for consumption and complied with the legal requirements. The laboratory also conducted 12,778 tests arising from investigations into food complaints. The laboratory outsources some routine food testing work to private laboratories to better utilise its resources for developing new testing methods and coping with the broadened scope of testing services.

In 2014, the laboratory performed over 57,600 tests on pharmaceutical products and over 85,700 tests on Chinese medicines to ensure they met recognised quality and safety standards and that the proprietary Chinese medicines were free from Western drugs adulteration or harmful ingredients. The laboratory also provided support for investigations into the use of undeclared Western drugs in preparations and incidents of intoxication suspected to have been caused by misused or contaminated herbs. The laboratory assists the DH in the development of Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards. It also conducts year-round surveillance of tar and nicotine yields in cigarettes. Over 12,500 checks on data declared by tobacco traders were carried out and the results released to the public.

Public Health Laboratory Services

The DH's Public Health Laboratory Services Branch conducts laboratory tests for clinical and surveillance specimens and provides clinical diagnostic and public health laboratory services to the public and private health sectors for patient care and for other public health purposes. The branch conducted more than six million such tests in 2014.

The branch's Public Health Laboratory Centre has been designated by the World Health Organisation as a National Influenza Centre, a National Poliovirus Laboratory, a National Measles Laboratory of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, a Supranational TB Reference Laboratory, a Regional Reference Laboratory for measles in the Western Pacific Region, a Global Influenza A(HS) Reference Laboratory and a SARS Reference Laboratory.

Hospital Laboratory Services

Hospital laboratories in the HA hospitals provide a wide range of laboratory services in anatomical pathology, chemical pathology, haematology, blood bank, microbiology, immunology and tissue typing to ensure that all public hospitals, including those without on- site laboratories, have access to comprehensive laboratory services. These laboratories are supported by advanced information technology systems and automated devices to achieve operational efficiency, and also accredited by a number of local and international accreditation bodies.

Auxiliary Medical Service

The Auxiliary Medical Service (AMS) is a government department under the Security Bureau, with 99 civil servants, 4,602 volunteer members and 1,400 cadets. The volunteers come from all walks of life, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and paramedical personnel, and are all qualified Disaster Medical Assistants. The AMS's main role is to reinforce regular medical, health

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