******************************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) Main Block and Trauma Centre Foundation Laying Ceremony was held today (November 10). The Ceremony was officiated by Dr York Chow, Secretary for Food and Health; Mr Anthony Wu, Chairman of the Hospital Authority; Mr Edward S T Ho, Chairman of PWH Hospital Governing Committee; Professor Fok Tai Fai, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Mr Yue Chi Hang, Director of Architectural Services; Mr Shane Solomon, HA Chief Executive; and Dr Fung Hong, PWH Hospital Chief Executive.
PWH commenced operation in 1984, providing medical services for the population in the New Territories East (NTE) cluster for almost 25 years. As the largest acute hospital in NTE and the teaching hospital of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the volume and complexity of the cases handled by PWH are different from other hospitals; this coupled with the increasing population in the cluster, the extension block project is necessary.
To ensure that adequate space and modern and safe services and facilities will be provided to meet current standards and future needs in the coming decades, the government approved funding for the extension block project which will enable PWH to be updated to match the standards of a modern tertiary acute hospital, with a patient-oriented setting that improves patient comfort, achieves operational efficiency, and meets the challenges of clinical and technological advances.
The Extension Block will offer 800 in-patient beds for the provision of all essential services, 16 operation theatres and additional intensive care in-patient beds; the accident and emergency service will also move to the new block. Works commenced in 2007 and is expected to complete by mid 2010.
Upon completion, the Extension Block will facilitate the hospital to meet the service and teaching demands and the hospitalˇ¦s long-term functional needs as well as the medical demand of the cluster. Foundation laying of the Extension Block also marks that PWH will be equipped with better facilities in the near future to serve the public of NTE.
Ends/Monday, November 10, 2008
Issued at HKT 19:32
NNNN
