CUHK
News Centre

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is pleased to receive a generous donation of HK$1.3 billion from The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) Charities Trust for the development of the territory’s first not-for-profit and self-financed teaching hospital, which aims to serve the public and enhance the quality of teaching and research.  The pioneering initiative will offer a new healthcare model in Hong Kong.  This is the largest single donation ever made by HKJC to a medical project in Hong Kong, and is also the greatest single donation ever received by CUHK.  In sincere appreciation of HKJC’s support, the University will name one of the clinical blocks of the hospital as The Hong Kong Jockey Club Clinical Tower.  In addition, HKJC will further donate HK$12 million to support the establishment of the CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing.  A donation ceremony was held today (21 August), officiated by Mr. T. Brian STEVENSON, Chairman of HKJC; Mr. Winfried ENGELBRECHT-BRESGES, Chief Executive Officer of HKJC; Mr. Douglas SO, Executive Director, Charities of HKJC; Dr. Vincent H.C. CHENG, Chairman of the Council of CUHK; Prof. Joseph J.Y. SUNG, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK; and Mr. Chien LEE, Chairman of CUHK Medical Centre Governing Board.

Innovative healthcare enterprise driven by social mission

CUHK has been actively planning the development of a CUHK owned, professionally managed, not-for-profit Teaching Hospital on a campus site adjacent to the University MTR station.  The project reflects CUHK’s commitment to the Government’s policy to increase the diversity of healthcare provision in Hong Kong in order to alleviate the increasing burden of healthcare falling on the Hospital Authority as Hong Kong’s population ages.  Driven by this social mission, the new Teaching Hospital will offer innovative and patient-centered quality healthcare services to local citizens, setting a new milestone in the health system of Hong Kong.

Prof. Joseph J.Y. SUNG, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK, said, ‘The Teaching Hospital project is a pioneering initiative to the humble purpose of serving the people of Hong Kong.  The new Teaching Hospital is Hong Kong’s first not-for-profit, self-financing university hospital that is wholly-owned by CUHK.  The Hospital makes wide use of straight-forward package pricing so that the costs of treatment become transparent and affordable to local middle-class families.’

Mr. T. Brian STEVENSON, Chairman of HKJC, said, ‘The teaching hospital will be of particular benefit to the city’s sandwich class, as it will be the first hospital in Hong Kong to offer package prices, helping to bridge the gap between expensive private healthcare and the excellent but overburdened public services.’  He added, ‘Such packages will offer good quality one-stop healthcare services at affordable prices covering all costs, so that patients can be better informed of the actual expenses to be incurred before receiving treatment.  We believe it will be a welcome addition to Hong Kong’s medical and health arena and a major milestone to local medical development.’

Mr. Stevenson told the audience that another key function of the teaching hospital was its senior-friendly facilities, including an Elderly Day Centre to treat those suffering from chronic diseases, dementia and commonplace ailments like eye cataracts.  Complemented by the Trust-funded Institute of Ageing, the hospital would help mitigate the challenges brought by an ageing population in the city.

Dr. Vincent H.C. CHENG, Chairman of the Council of CUHK, expressed his gratitude to HKJC for its long-standing support to CUHK, ‘The Jockey Club first donated towards CUHK in 1969.  Since then, the Club has donated through its Trust to support close to 40 projects on education and healthcare promotion, campus development and community services.  All these demonstrate the Club’s strong commitment to the welfare of the local community.’

Quality healthcare services with patient-centred principles

The Teaching Hospital will operate a new healthcare model that promotes long term sustainability of medical and health services in Hong Kong.  It bridges the service gap between private and public healthcare sectors by providing high-quality medical services with transparent and affordable pricing to the middle-class families, alleviating the pressure on the public system.  It will provide a full range of inpatient, outpatient, ambulatory diagnostic and treatment services, as well as age-friendly facilities like an elderly day centre for elderly suffering from chronic diseases and cognitive impairment.  The hospital will provide integrated clinical services in Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Chinese Medicine, General Medicine and Surgery, Orthopaedics, Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Neonatology and Obstetrics.  It differs from other private hospitals by serving as a key base for clinical research, healthcare education and training, providing first-class teaching venues and facilities for students, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and allied health workers.  This will enable transfer of research and innovation and raise the teaching standards of CUHK Medical Faculty.

Wholly-owned by CUHK without participation of commercial corporations

The Teaching Hospital will cover a total construction floor area of 78,000 m² and will provide around 600 beds, with a number of beds set aside for public patients.  The hospital will be wholly-owned by CUHK without the participation of any commercial corporation.  Financing consists of donations, the undesignated private fund reserve of the University, and loans.  The hospital will be self-financed and financially independent.  Any surplus from the Teaching Hospital will be used to support its future development, meet the teaching and research needs of the CUHK Faculty of Medicine and the University.

The CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing

It is expected that in 2030, a quarter of Hong Kong’s population will be aged 65 or above, and the number of people aged 85 or above is projected to increase more rapidly than those aged 65-80.  In support of CUHK’s aspiration to overcome the challenges brought by the ageing population to society, HKJC has generously donated HK$12 million to CUHK to establish The CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, which aims to make Hong Kong an age-friendly city in the world.  The institute will synergize the research personnel and efforts across disciplines to promote and implement holistic strategies for active ageing, through research, policy advice, community outreach and knowledge transfer.  The Club’s CADENZA Project Director Prof. Jean Woo will serve as the Director of the Institute.

For more photos, please visit:
https://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/en/events_recap_detail.php?id=174&s=