Hong Kong’s first Chinese medicine hospital has opened its doors to patients, with subsidised general outpatient services for the first month fully booked, prompting the facility to add extra slots to meet demand.
The Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong, located in Tseung Kwan O, aims to provide services for more complex cases under a model that features Chinese medicine as the primary approach, integrated with Western medicine.
“We hope to bring the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong to the world and establish a more solid foundation,” said Wong Kwai-huen, chairman of the hospital’s board of directors.
“The hospital will fully push for the ongoing enhancement of healthcare services, teaching, training and research, and actively facilitate the Chinese medicine development blueprint, which will be announced by the government soon.”
Professor Bian Zhaoxiang, the hospital’s chief executive, said operations ran smoothly on the first day, despite the huge patient demand.
“Government-subsidised [general outpatient] service quotas are fully booked for the first month. In response, we have doubled the quotas for the first 10 days and added 30 per cent more slots starting from [Thursday],” Bian said.
The Health Bureau said the 30 per cent quota increase would be applicable for the remaining days of the hospital’s first month of operations.
Bookings for the hospital’s six specialised clinics, which cover internal and external medicine, gynaecology, paediatrics, orthopaedics and traumatology, as well as acupuncture and moxibustion, were also 80 per cent full as of Thursday morning.
Bian revealed that 181 patients, including those using subsidised and private services, had booked appointments on the first day.
They will be served by 22 Chinese medicine practitioners, five doctors and more than 200 other staff members, with manpower set to expand to at least 800.
Nineteen practitioners from mainland China have also been approved by the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong to work at the hospital under a limited registration.
In light of the deadly fire at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court last month, Bian said residents and foreign domestic helpers from the estate and those admitted to public hospitals after being injured in the fire could have their medical fees waived at the Chinese Medicine Hospital.
The arrangement, which will be in place until the end of 2026, will cover all government-subsidised services, such as general and specialised clinics.
Health minister Lo Chung-mau also inspected the hospital in the morning and reviewed patient services.
The hospital, featuring smart and artistic design elements, is a government-owned facility operated by a company under Baptist University and located on Pak Shing Kok Road.
By the end of 2030, the hospital is expected to operate 400 beds and accommodate 400,000 outpatient visits annually.
Sixty-five per cent of the hospital services are government-subsidised, while the remaining 35 per cent are private ones.
Under the private service, patients can choose to see their own preferred practitioners.
Joyce Li Ng-mui, a retiree in her sixties, was among the hospital’s first patients.
Having suffered chronic shoulder and neck pain from her previous work as a clerk, Li has consulted Chinese medicine practitioners for more than 10 years in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Li said she found the charge at the new hospital reasonable and was happy with the service quality.
“Considering the time and transport costs of visiting a Shenzhen hospital, the charges here are at a similar level,” she said.
“I also love how this hospital provides one-stop services, so I can receive consultations, laboratory tests, acupuncture and cupping therapy inside the same facility.”
She added that while Chinese medicine consultations were cheaper at Hospital Authority clinics, she could never secure an appointment due to the high demand.
But she said she hoped authorities could allow patients to use their healthcare vouchers to pay for the consultation and medicine, to further alleviate their burden.
A 71-year-old retiree surnamed Yiu, however, complained about the 30-minute wait at the pharmacy.
“The staff said that they were too busy ... but I may give it another shot later, hopefully the service will have improved by then,” he said.
He said he tried to book a subsidised service, but it was full, so he opted for private services instead, which cost him more than HK$800 (US$103), including medicines for four days.
“The price here is more reasonable than the private sector, but the facility is top-notch,” he said.
Patients seeking clinic services at the hospital can schedule an appointment via the hospital’s website, mobile app, hotline or by walk-in registration.
The specialised services are set to include disease-specific programmes for 23 conditions, with treatments for 12 of them, ranging from infertility to chronic pain, to be introduced in the first year.
Patients may also be referred to the hospital’s allied health services when necessary, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
Following an amendment to the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance, which took effect on July 25, Chinese medicine practitioners can refer patients to some therapists and for diagnostic imaging and laboratory tests.
Some guidelines for the profession were also released on Thursday.
Cheung Chun-hoi, deputy hospital chief executive (Chinese medicine), said that one of the main differences between the Hong Kong facility and those on the mainland was its approach of integrating Chinese and Western medicines.
“On the mainland, a doctor can handle Chinese medicine on one hand and Western medicine on the other,” he said. “In Hong Kong, these two approaches must be handled by two people.”
The hospital is set to hold an open day on January 17 and 18 to allow the public to learn more about its services and operations.
