Kai Tak Hospital to Begin Phased Operations in Hong Kong on Monday

Kai Tak Hospital will begin its first phase of operation on Monday, initially offering family medicine and specialist outpatient services after more than a decade of planning and preparation.

The opening marks the start of a phased operation at Hong Kong’s largest public hospital, built on the former airport site in Kai Tak.

A major expansion of public healthcare

With a gross floor area of about 500,000 square metres and 2,400 beds, Kai Tak Hospital will be Hong Kong’s largest public hospital.

Its services will gradually take over functions from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan.

That transition makes the opening part of a wider change in the city’s healthcare infrastructure, rather than the launch of an isolated facility.

The South China Morning Post has examined the hospital’s key features and what its opening means for Hong Kong’s healthcare development.

Five buildings and major facilities

Kai Tak Hospital comprises five buildings on the south apron of the former airport.

The hospital cost more than HK$36 billion to plan and build.

Its major facilities include 37 operating theatres and a 24-hour accident and emergency department.

These facilities are part of the hospital’s planned capacity as it gradually assumes services from Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Automated pharmacy

The hospital will also house Hong Kong’s largest pharmacy.

It will be the first pharmacy in a public hospital in Hong Kong to use an automated dispensing system.

The system will be capable of handling up to 3,200 prescriptions a day.

For visitors, the immediate change is that Kai Tak Hospital’s first operating phase will focus on family medicine and specialist outpatient services, while its broader role will develop gradually.

Source: South China Morning Post