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Photo of Kwong Wah Hospital in
1911
Back in the early twentieth century, no hospitals
existed on the Kowloon side of the harbour, and traffic to Hong Kong Island
to seek medical help was treacherous for the sick. In 1907, a group of
community leaders submitted a proposal to build a Chinese hospital in
Yaumatei as a matter of urgency to cater for the needs of the rapidly
expanding population in Kowloon and the New Territories. The Hong Kong
Government subsequently enacted Ordinance No. 38 known as "1911 Expansion
of Tung Wah Hospital Ordinance". A piece of Crown land in Yaumatei
was granted for the purpose of erecting a hospital together with a sum
of $30,000 for capital expenses and an annual subvention of $6,500 for
recurrent expenditure. The deficit was to be borne by the Directors. The
eventual building cost came up to $130,000. After 5 years of construction,
Kwong Wah Hospital was officially opened by the then Governor Sir Frederick
Lugard on 9 October 1911. A pair of Chinese scrolls at the main entrance
of the hospital spelt out the political environment at the time - the
Chinese Revolution to overthrow the Ching Dynasty broke out the following
day on 10 October 1911.
Photo on grand opening
ceremony of KWH in 1911
At the early stage, KWH could only afford to admit
72 patients. Financial deficits were often met by donation appeals and
generous contributions from the Directors. In 1928, an order was issued
by the Chinese temples Committee that a nearby Tin Hau Temple and its
accumulated credit were to be handed over to the management of KWH. Likewise,
the Sui Yuet Kung Temple was acquired and rebuilt by the Tung Wah Group
and income therefrom used to subsidize the medical services of KWH.
In 1930, the Ordinance was amended to "The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals
Ordinance" to incorporate all three hospitals - Tung Wah Hospital
established in 1870, KWH in 1911, and Tung Wah Eastern Hospital in 1929.
In 1931, these 3 hospitals were officially put under a united Board of
Directors, and Mr. Ngan Shing Kwan was elected as the first Chairman.
Hospital Expansion
The Directors continued to develop KWH to meet rising
public demand. A public dispensary together with a pier was built in 1915
in Yaumatei waterfront to serve the boat people, but was subsequently
destroyed during World War II. In 1931, new Tuberculosis wards were built
and the operating theatre was renovated. The hospital building was also
expanded with the construction of maternity and general wards in 1929.
Other constructions included re-building of the mortuary in 1940, the
hospital kitchen in 1947, and an extension of the out patient department
in 1952. As the number of out patients rapidly expanded from 110,000 in
1951 to 258,000 in 1957, and an additional building was completed in 1958.
By this time, the number of hospital beds had increased to 631. Still,
overcrowding was severe. The original Nurses Quarters built in 1952 could
not accommodate the extra manpower required, and was re-built in 1959.
KWH Re-development
Project
The population in Hong Kong increased tremendously
after World War II, and in-patient number in KWH rose to 180,000 in 1957,
including 21,000 maternity cases. It was not uncommon to see 2 or 3 patients
sharing one bed while camp beds were put up in the corridors. In 1953,
the Governor Sir Alexander Grantham opined that the hospital should be
re-built. By 1957 when Mr. Wilson Wang was Chairman, he proposed to implement
the re-development scheme with a total construction cost of $20 million
and equipment cost $5 million. In the interim, the Board decided to proceed
with the construction of a Ting Yau Ward with 120 beds to accommodate
the additional patients in 1958. The colossal re-development project was
finally launched during the office of Mr. Cheung Chan-hon as Chairman
in 1958, and completed in 1963 under the chairmanship of Mr. Ho Sai-chu.
On 23 March 1965, the re-developed KWH was officially opened by the Governor
Sir David Trench.
Photo of re-developed
KWH in 1965
Other constructions included the Casualty Department
in 1965, which was at that time the second such service in the whole of
Kowloon and New Territories, the Blood Bank in 1965 and Hospital Library
in 1968. The Intensive Care Unit was also setup in 1968 and it was the
first ICU setup in Hong Kong. The Old Hall was also renovated and converted
into the Tung Wah Museum when Mr. Leo Lee Tung-hoi was Chairman in 1971.
Photo of Tung Wah Museum
As the hospital's laboratory services expanded,
the Yu Chun Keung Memorial Medical Centre was built and opened in 1981
under the Chairmanship of Mr. Lui Che-woo. Thereafter, the hospital continued
to receive support for the introduction of new services and equipment.
The first CT scanner was acquired in 1991 with a donation from the Hong
Kong Jockey Club.
Photo of Yu Chun Keung
Memorial Medical Centre
Management Transfer
to Hospital Authority
In December 1991, the management of KWH was transferred
to the newly established Hong Kong Hospital Authority via an agreement
with the Tung Wah Group. All staff were offered Hospital Authority terms
of employment in line with other public hospitals. New opportunities were
opened to KWH in terms of management reform and service improvements.
A new management structure was put in place with the appointment of a
Hospital Chief Executive and his management team, to whom the overall
management responsibilities were decentralized. New management systems
were implemented, and numerous improvement programs were launched. Under
the hospital clustering arrangement of the Authority, KWH became the major
acute hospital of the Kowloon West Hospital Cluster, and acquired management
of two additional satellite centres, viz. Ngau Tau Kok Geriatric Day Hospital
in 1993, and Pamela Youde Polyclinic Renal Dialysis Centre in 1994.
Major Refurbishment
and Out Patient Block projects
In 1995, the Government granted $584 million for
a Major Refurbishment Project of the Main Building of the hospital. The
project took place in 3 phases with sequential temporary closure of each
of the hospital wings, and lasted for 3 years. Meanwhile, additional funding
was secured to expand the Accident and Emergency Department, and construct
a Lee Shiu-chung Magnetic Resonance Imaging Centre. All these were successfully
accomplished by 1997, and the opening ceremony was officiated by the Chief
Secretary Mrs. Anson Chan.
Photos of opening ceremony
Photo of Kwong Wah Hospital
after Major Refurbishment
In view of the need for further development, a new
7-storeyed Tsui Tsin Tong Out Patient Building at a cost of $160 million
was built and put into services in January 2000. This building provides
General and Specialist Out Patient services, Allied Health Services, Rehabilitation
Centre, Maternity Clinic, Well Woman Clinic, Pharmacy and a separate Day
Surgery Centre for the delivery of high quality ambulatory services.
Photo of Tsui Tsin Tong
Out Patient Building
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