THE HKU-SHENZHEN HOSPITAL

An unprecedented achievement in knowledge exchange was realised when the HKU-Shenzhen Hospital had a soft opening in July 2012, a facility that will be developed into a world-class medical centre and provide many mutual benefits to HKU and Shenzhen.

The hospital is managed by HKU, supported by the Faculty of Medicine, to HKU standards and enables us to introduce a new hospital management system and patient care culture to the Mainland, for example through the appointment system and fixed-price package.

Broader Impact

The partnership with Shenzhen is envisaged to have a broader impact beyond the physical confines of hospital walls. This potentially can serve to change and advance clinical services in China and contribute to its healthcare reform.

"This collaboration will infuse bold, creative, transforming insights into China and will function as a training centre of clinical skills and professional ethics," says Professor Lee Sum-ping, Dexter H.C. Man Professor in Medical Science and Dean of Medicine.

"The rich clinical materials will also provide a strong impetus to our own medical education and research. Most importantly, this project allows our Medical Faculty to realise our mission and vision, transcending the physical constraints of our institutional boundaries."

The hospital opened with the service of 62 doctors. During Phase 1 of its operations, it is initially offering primary care, speciality out-patient services and a limited scale of in-patient services. When fully up and running, the hospital is expected to provide 2,000 beds and 10,000 daily out-patient consultations and have over 900 doctors on staff.

Areas of Excellence

In addition to a full panel of specialty services, the HKU Affiliate Teaching Hospital will be complemented by five of HKU's areas of excellence (organ transplantation, haematological oncology, cardiology, orthopaedics and traumatology, and reproductive medicine and prenatal diagnosis).

The aims are ambitious and while there may be challenges and hurdles along the way, particularly in the merging of two medical cultures, Professor Lee is confident they can be overcome. "A thousand-mile journey starts with the first step," he says.