Kwong Wah Hospital is a 1,141-bed public district general hospital in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong. Located on 25 Waterloo Road, the hospital was founded by the Tung Wah Group in 1911, and managed by the Hospital Authority since 1991. It provides a full range of medical services to the population of West Kowloon and Wong Tai Sin. It is Kowloon West Cluster's major acute teaching hospital, and also a Neurosurgical and Antenatal Diagnosis referral centre. The Hospital has established various clinical centers, including Lai Kwok Wing Urology Centre, Minimally Invasive Surgery Training Centre and Chan Feng Men Ling Cardiac Centre. There are integrated Breast Centre and Dr Stephen Chow Chun-kay Assisted Reproduction Centre. It has established a Community Based Geriatric Service, Respiratory Care Unit, Acute Stroke Unit, TWGHs BOCHK Diabetes Centre, Wong Wha San Renal Memorial Centre, and a Nuclear Medicine site. Kwong Wah Hospital is also a pioneer in Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine. TWGHs has established TWGHs Wilson T S Wang Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Treatment Centre in Kwong Wah. The hospital has participated through joint consultation for designated diseases under protocols which developed by both Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine practitioners. The former Main Hall Building of Kwong Wah Hospital is preserved and houses the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Museum.
History
In the early days, the hospital offered medical service free of charge to those who could not afford it, with funding provided by local merchants. That tradition continues today. The hospital played a major role in the SARS epidemic which made its way from Guangdong province to Hong Kong early in 2003. On 21 February, Liu Jianlun, a 64-year-old Chinese doctor who had treated cases of SARS in Guangdong arrived in Hong Kong to attend a wedding. He checked into the Metropole Hotel. Although he had developed symptoms on 15 February, he felt well enough to travel, shop, and sight-see with his brother-in-law. On 22 February he sought urgent care at the Kwong Wah Hospital and was admitted to the intensive care unit. He died on 4 March. About 80% of the Hong Kong cases have been traced back to this doctor. On 25 February, the 53-year-old brother-in-law of the Guangdong doctor came to the Kwong Wah Hospital. He was not admitted that day but his illness worsened, and he was admitted on 1 March. He died on 19 March.
