United Christian Hospital

United Christian Hospital is an acute district general hospital in Kwun Tong of New Kowloon in Hong Kong, operated by the Hospital Authority. The hospital has 1,174 beds and staff of 3,000, serving eastern Kowloon.

United Christian Hospital
Hospital Authority and the Hong Kong Christian Council
Geography
Location130 Hip Wo Street, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Coordinates22°19′23″N 114°13′37″E
Organisation
Care systemPublic
FundingGovernment hospital
TypeDistrict General, Teaching
Affiliated universityMedical Faculty of the Chinese University of Hong Kong
NetworkKowloon East Cluster
Services
Emergency departmentYes, 24 hour Accident and Emergency
Beds1,403
HelipadNo
History
Opened6 December 1973 (1973-12-06)
Links
Websitewww.uch.org.hk
ListsHospitals in Hong Kong
United Christian Hospital
Traditional Chinese基督教聯合醫院
Simplified Chinese基督教联合医院

Founded in 1973, it has links to Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital via the Hong Kong Christian Council.[1] The hospital's first chief medical superintendent was Dr. Edward Hamilton Paterson.[2]

History

The hospital has its foundation stone laid on 2 April 1971 by the Governor of Hong Kong, David Trench, and was officially opened on 6 December 1973 by Murray MacLehose, Trench's successor as Governor of Hong Kong.[3][4]

The hospital was expanded in the 1990s. At that time, Blocks J, K, L and S were built and Block P was redeveloped. The project was completed in 1999.[5]

Services
Overview of the hospital prior to redevelopment

The hospital provides in-patient, day-patient and out-patient care; it also manages the psychiatry, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and geriatric day hospital services of Yung Fung Shee Memorial Centre as well as the Eye Clinic, pharmacy and radiology services of the Pamela Youde Polyclinic at Cha Kwo Ling Road.

The hospital provides Community Nursing Services (CNS) to the patients in Kwun Tong.[6]

Redevelopment and expansion

The hospital is currently undergoing a major expansion and redevelopment project. This involves the demolition of Blocks F, G, and H, as well as the low block of Block P. A major new ambulatory block (Block A) will be built, a new Oncology Centre will be provided, and various other expansions and renovations will be completed. The project is set to be completed in 2023.[5]

By the end January 2018, Secretary for Food and Health Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee expressed her concern over the chronicle shortage of nurse across hospitals in Hong Kong. Among hospitals being affected, United Christian Hospital was cited as the worse-hit public medical service provider. Statistics showed its bed occupancy rate reached the hike of 120%, the rate of usage that was well above its maximum capacity. But, as a whole if we took a wider perspective to see the problem across other hospitals in Hong Kong, the situation of recruitment medical staff was not well either. Shortage of labour has long been an issue the public Hospital find it hard to tackle. They fell short of recruiting enough number of medical personnel. Over the past year of the 2000 vacancies available only 80 percent of which was filled, amounting to 1800 new nurses being hired by the public hospital. Added to the problem was the incoming flu season during the winter, which would for certain mount more pressure on medical stuff across hospitals in Hong Kong due to the foreseeable rise of workloads.[7]

See also

References
  1. "United Christian Hospital".
  2. "Outside Europe. An urban community health project". Br Med J. 280 (6206): 29–31. January 1980. doi:10.1136/bmj.280.6206.29. PMC 1600500. PMID 7357261.
  3. "'Hongkong—land of harmony'". South China Morning Post. Hong Kong. 3 April 1971. p. 4.
  4. "$46m hospital for Kun Tong residents". South China Morning Post. Hong Kong. 7 December 1973. p. 12.
  5. "Expansion of United Christian Hospital". Hospital Authority. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  6. "Community Nursing Service".
  7. Naomi Ng,"Hong Kong short of 200 nurses as hospitals grapple with deadly flu season",SCMP, Saturday, 27 January 2018

Official website

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