Hong Kong Children’s Hospital officially opens

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The public paediatic service in Hong Kong reached a milestone today (June 21) as the Hong Kong Children's Hospital (HKCH) celebrated its official opening.
 
     The hospital's opening ceremony was officiated by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan. Other guests attending the ceremony included the Hospital Authority (HA) Chairman, Professor John Leong and the HA Chief Executive, Dr Leung Pak-yin; the HKCH Hospital Governing Committee Chairman, Mr John Lee; the Dean of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, Professor Gabriel Leung; the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Professor Dennis Lo; Kowloon Central Cluster Chief Executive, Dr Albert Lo, and the HKCH Hospital Chief Executive, Dr Lee Tsz-leung.
 
     In his welcoming remarks, Professor Leong thanked the Government for its support and leadership. He said, "With the full funding support from the Government we were able to build a hospital with an excellent environment, ample space and advanced equipment, which allows us to develop clinical services, research, teaching and training that are comparable to the standard of our international counterparts."
 
     Professor Leong added that the HKCH has adopted children-centred and family-friendly designs and initiatives to create a home-like environment to relieve the stress and anxiety of child patients and their families, while also supporting their care, leisure, social and learning needs.
 
     "The establishment of the HKCH has also provided an opportunity for the HA to re-organise its paediatric services. The HKCH serves as the tertiary referral centre for complex, serious and uncommon paediatric cases requiring multidisciplinary management, providing diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation services for patients with relevant clinical needs, from birth to 18 years of age over the territory, while the paediatric departments in the other 13 public hospitals continue to provide secondary, acute, emergency and community paediatric care. This new arrangement is expected to bring about a co-ordinated and coherent public paediatric service network and enhance the overall service quality," he said.
 
     THe HKCH Hospital Governing Committee Chairman, Mr John Lee, also expressed gratitude to the different sectors which have contributed to the hospital's smooth service commissioning. He said, "We are fully aware of the concerns and expectations the public have of the HKCH. This will constantly motivate us to keep improving to achieve excellence."
 
     The operation of the HKCH has commenced in phases since December 2018. Services currently available include oncology and haematology, nephrology, metabolic medicine, intensive care, paediatric surgery, pathology, anaesthesia, radiology, pharmacy and allied health services. Other clinical services will commence gradually.