Tung Wah Hospital

Tung Wah Hospital is a hospital in Hong Kong under the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. Located above Possession Point in Sheung Wan, it is the first hospital established in Colonial Hong Kong for the general public in the 1870s.

History

The hospital was declared for construction in March 26, 1870 under the ''"Tung Wah Hospital Incorporation Ordinance"''. The push for the construction of the facility began when the Registrar General saw an indiscriminate mix of the dead and dying cuddled together in a temple. The large number of deaths were in part due to the arrival of the upcoming Third Pandemic of bubonic plague from China. Though it was not declared an official establishment until 1872. The hospital was subsidized by the government at a price of $45,000 along with HKD $15,000 in land grant. The grand opening on February 14, 1872 was considered the grandest ever witnessed in Colonial Hong Kong. A lot of cultural prejudice did exist at the time, such as Chinese citizens not trusting western medicine and other practices such as surgery. Many Chinese would rather die than be submitted into a western clinic. The government subsequently enacted Ordinance No. 38 known as "1911 Expansion of Tung Wah Hospital Ordinance" in 1911 to deal with the population growth of Kowloon and the New Territories in conjunction with Kwong Wah Hospital.

Background

With 633 beds, including 494 for in-patients, 93 for day patients and 46 rehabilitation day places, it is the second largest general hospital in Hong Kong West Cluster. The Main Block of Tung Wah Hospital is graded as Grade III historic building. It is affliated with the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, while the University of Hong Kong provide clinical attachment opportunities for its medical students.