Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1923534/hong-kong-baptist-university-plans-focus-chronic
Hong Kong/ Health & Environment

Hong Kong Baptist University plans to focus on chronic diseases if it wins right to operate city’s first Chinese medicine hospital

Academics see traditional medicine as a way to treat illnesses faced by an ageing population

Baptist University is planning to expand its Chinese medicine services if it wins the right to operate a hospital in Tseung Kwan O. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong Baptist University says chronic diseases could be a major focus if it wins the right to operate the city’s first Chinese medicine hospital in Tseung Kwan O.

The university, which has a long history of teaching Chinese medicine and runs 15 related clinics in the city, is planning to submit an expression of interest to the government on the future hospital’s services and facilities.

The city’s overburdened hospitals – that are currently preoccupied with patients suffering from chronic diseases like strokes amid a rapidly ageing society – were pushing demand for a hospital that could provide in-patient Chinese medicine treatment for patients, Baptist University professor Bian Zhaoxiang told a panel discussion also attended by hospital chiefs from Germany and South Korea.

According to Bian, by 2035, one-third of the city’s population is expected to be aged above 65.

“An increasing elderly population also means more chronic diseases. If they are not properly treated for too long, they will cause serious complications. Chinese medicine can effectively treat these diseases,” Bian said.

Ko Seong-gyu (left), Baptist University’s Bian Zhaoxiang and Dai Jingzhang discussed the popularisation of Chinese medicine. Photo: David Wong
Ko Seong-gyu (left), Baptist University’s Bian Zhaoxiang and Dai Jingzhang discussed the popularisation of Chinese medicine. Photo: David Wong

The government has been preparing for the city’s inaugural Chinese medicine hospital since 2013. Besides reserving a site for development, it has also established a pilot programme to treat strokes and acute lower back pain and offer palliative care for cancer patients by combining Chinese and Western medicine at three hospitals since September 2014. The service is being expanded to three morehospitals.

“Our idea is to create a Chinese medicine hospital with Hong Kong characteristics by borrowing good experience from other countries,” Bian said.

Professor Dai Jingzhang, director of the TCM- Hospital Bad Koetzting in Germany, said the country’s growing interest in using Chinese medical treatment including medicine and practises like acupuncture was helped by universal health care coverage. Since 2010, his hospital started adding psychological counsellers to help patients relieve pressure though conversation and group discussions.

South Korea has built a hospital system comprising around 170 private Korean medicine hospitals and 30 university-run facilities. Korean medicine is similar to the Chinese variety.

“Usually our university hospitals aim at a high level. They’re different from primary health care clinics. They include dental and Western departments. And I hope Baptist University can aim at that level as well,” said Professor Ko Seong-gyu from Kyung Hee University in South Korea.

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