HONG KONG (SE): Caritas-Hong Kong and Parkway Medical Services [Hong Kong] Limited [PMS] signed a memorandum of understanding on the redevelopment project of Precious Blood Hospital [Caritas]. The signing ceremony took place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on May 23. During a press conference on the same day, the two parties announced that the partnership aimed to create a new hospital campus in Shum Shui Po.
The new campus will feature more hospital beds, user-friendly facilities, and a more comfortable environment to aid patients in their recovery. They emphasized that their commitment to providing high-quality services to the community at affordable prices will remain unchanged.
The memorandum was signed by Caritas chief executive, Father Joseph Yim Tak-lung, and PMS chief executive officer, Doctor Kenneth Tsang.
PMS is a joint venture between NWS Holdings Limited as well as IHH Healthcare, an international healthcare provider running over 80 hospitals around the world.
Father Yim expressed his joy over the cooperation. “Precious Blood Hospital and PMS have similar philosophies in caring for the public and serving people. And it has extensive experience and expertise in the medical field,” he said.
“The signing of the memorandum marks the beginning of a partnership to provide better and more comprehensive services to the people of Hong Kong, especially those in the greater Sham Shui Po District, and to give them access to better healthcare services,” he continued.
The signing of the memorandum marks the beginning of a partnership to provide better and more comprehensive services to the people of Hong Kong, especially those in the greater Sham Shui Po District, and to give them access to better healthcare services
Father Yim said that in the face of increased public demand for its services, Precious Blood Hospital has been working hard to provide affordable high quality services to the community, while at the same time reducing the pressure on public medical services. It has partnered with different funds for various medical check-ups and operations, and recently, its knee replacement project has helped many elderly people.
Doctor Tsang said the redevelopment project would be implemented in phases. The first phase will focus on creating a new inpatient clinical space, which will involve moving outpatient services and non-clinical functions to an off-site location, probably by next year.
The next phase will involve the renovation of the historic hospital to make it more compatible with the healthcare process that use different medical equipment. There will also be changes to the floor plans, as the lower floors of the renovated building will be used for elderly services and other high-volume services, while the upper floors will be used for ward services with facilities that meet modern air-flow requirements.
In the long term, the two parties will also explore the possibility of building a new outpatient block nearby to meet new service demands.
The new campus will feature more hospital beds, user-friendly facilities, and a more comfortable environment to aid patients in their recovery. They emphasized that their commitment to providing high-quality services to the community at affordable prices will remain unchanged
Doctor Tsang said hospital services would be maintained as much as possible during the renovation process. Ways would also be explored to work with the government to provide more primary care services.
The redevelopment project will not be subsidised by the government.
Doctor Joseph Lui, director of medical services of Caritas-Hong Kong, said that although the hospital is relatively small, it is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and has highly skilled and caring medical staff. According to him, since it was transferred to Caritas three decades ago, the hospital has undergone several renovations, including the opening of two new operating theatres, and has partnered with a number of charitable foundations to provide low-cost and affordable surgeries and procedures, attracting many doctors, especially orthopaedic surgeons, to join the service.
He said the hospital, adopting the concept of a campus, will provide general outpatient services, specialist outpatient services, and specialised services for seniors, such as orthopaedic surgeries, eye surgeries and lung disease treatment. It will also maintain its cooperation with the hospital authority to alleviate the pressure on the public sector.
Precious Blood Hospital is a non-profit private hospital founded by the Sisters of the Precious Blood in 1937. It was transferred to Caritas-Hong Kong in 1993. At present the hospital provides various medical services to the local community, including general and specialist outpatient services, various physical examinations, vaccinations and surgery. At present, it provides 72 hospital beds.
