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Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals
Hong KongHealth & Environment

Hong Kong has enough practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine to staff its first dedicated hospital, operator says

  • Construction to begin this week on HK$8.62 billion facility slated to open in 2025
  • Hospital to treat 310,000 outpatients annually and city will not need to look to mainland China for practitioners, operator says

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Senior officials, including health chief Sophia Chan Siu-chee (centre), attend a press event on the new hospital held at government headquarters on Monday. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Elizabeth Cheung
The operator of Hong Kong’s first traditional Chinese medicine hospital is confident the supply of locally trained practitioners will be enough to meet the demands of the institution slated to open in 2025.

Construction of the nine-storey facility is due to begin at Pak Shing Kok in Tseung Kwan O on Wednesday and is projected to cost HK$8.62 billion (US$1.11 billion), with the government to reserve HK$1 billion annually for recurrent costs.

The Chinese Medicine Hospital will provide 400 beds and aims to treat about 310,000 outpatients every year once it becomes fully operational by 2030.

Between 50 and 65 per cent of its inpatient and outpatient services will be subsidised by the government, while the rest will be set at market rate. The facility will also offer community outreach services and carry out research.

An artist’s impression of the Chinese Medicine Hospital. Photo: Handout
An artist’s impression of the Chinese Medicine Hospital. Photo: Handout

The government awarded the contract to operate the hospital to Baptist University and its president and vice-chancellor Professor Alexander Wai Ping-kong said on Monday the city had enough practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine to meet manpower needs.

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