First teaching hospital to benefit sandwich class gets HK$1.3 billion Jockey Club backing

08/21/2014

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust will donate HK$1.3 billion to The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to establish a teaching hospital, Club Chairman T. Brian Stevenson announced today (21 August).  The hospital will be the first in Hong Kong to offer fixed price treatment packages that will benefit local residents particularly the sandwich class.  The Trust will also provide HK$12 million funding to set up the Jockey Club Institute of Ageing to promote positive ageing.

Officiating guests at today’s Donation Ceremony for the CUHK Teaching Hospital Project and CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing included the Club’s Chairman T. Brian Stevenson, Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges and Executive Director, Charities, Douglas So; CUHK Council Chairman Dr Vincent Cheng; Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Joseph Sung and CUHK Medical Centre Governing Board Chairman Chien Lee.

This is the Club’s largest ever single donation to a medical project in Hong Kong, and is also the greatest single donation ever received by CUHK.  Mr Stevenson 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.

Professor Sung 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.”

Dr Cheng expressed his gratitude to the Club for its long-standing support to CUHK, “The Jockey Club made its first donation to 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.”

With a construction floor area of 78,000 square metres, the hospital will provide around 600 patient beds.  It will provide a full range of medical services including a 24-hour clinic; an ambulatory surgery and urology centre, a cardiac intervention centre, an endoscopy centre, radiology facilities, an elderly day centre, a special ward with age-friendly features, and a health promotion centre. 

Due for completion in 2018, the hospital will complement the Prince of Wales Hospital to provide practical training and clinical attachment for students of CUHK’s undergraduate and postgraduate medical education programmes as well as other healthcare professionals from other tertiary institutions.  Some 250,000 people are expected to benefit annually from the inpatient, outpatient and training facilities of this teaching hospital.

In addition, the Trust has funded the establishment of the Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, to be led by CADENZA Project Director Professor Jean Woo, which will cut across multi-disciplines at the University, promoting positive ageing through research, public education and knowledge transfer.  The Institute will also collaborate with the Elderly Commission, NGOs and other universities to implement projects to tackle issues related to the quality of care and services for the elderly in a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary manner.

Both the teaching hospital and the Institute will create a synergy with the Club’s various other initiatives such as the CADENZA: A Jockey Club Initiative for Seniors which aims to make Hong Kong more elderly-friendly by improving the quality of our silver hair population, and the city’s first one-stop integrated health and social centre, the CADENZA Hub. 

CUHK is one of the Club’s most established partners.  Over the years, the Club has donated over HK$2 billion to support close to 40 projects launched by the University, and also partnered the University to launch Trust-initiated projects such as CADENZA Project; PATHS to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Project; READ & WRITE: A Jockey Club Learning Support Network; and the Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is not only one of the world’s leading horse racing organisations, but also Hong Kong’s largest community contributor, donating HK$1.95 billion in 2012/13. In addition, the Club is a major taxpayer, Hong Kong’s single largest by far, generating over HK$17.64 billion in 2012/13 for public funds. The Club pioneers technology applications for sporting and betting entertainment, striving for the highest levels of customer service. As a membership club, it is recognised as one of Asia’s most prestigious. These multifaceted roles make it a well-respected and remarkable organisation, dedicated to its mission of enhancing the quality of life for all Hong Kong people.