“Years spent studying proton therapy systems”

The motto of the hospital is: “Quality in Service, Excellence in Care”. Can you explain how you put your philosophy into practice?
We pride ourselves on our uncompromising adherence to the ‘Total Patient Experience’ concept, caring not only for the clinical but also the psychological aspects of every patient with superb amenities, a soothing environment, warm hospitality and meticulous care.

The hospital constantly strives to find better ways to treat diseases and new services to meet patients’ needs. As an extremely advanced hospital, HKSH continues to expand its number of specialty clinics in the last decade from a few to now over 30. Recently, the Li Shu Pui ENT Head & Neck Surgery Centre, Nephrology Centre and Allergy Centre welcomed Dr. William Wei, Dr Lai Kar Neng, and Professor Tak Lee from King’s College, London as the centre directors, who are all world-renowned experts and researchers in the above fields.

Besides expanding in service scope, HKSH also increased the depth of service for its long-established departments, such as the Department of Ophthalmology and Department of Women’s Health and Obstetrics. Established in 1981, the Department of Ophthalmology has grown from one doctor to a team of 10 doctors, who are all experts in different sub-specialities. Furthermore, there are also specialty centres such as the Eye Surgery Centre and Guy Hugh Chan Refractive Surgery Centre in the Department, where the latter has become one of the most advanced LASIK centres in Hong Kong, with LASIK procedures performed on over 80,000 eyes since 1996.

HKSH also aims to strengthen primary healthcare, which is beneficial to the community as well as channelling patients to use the hospital service. Currently we are running two satellite clinics, and there are plans to set up more across the city within the next 10 years.

The hospital continually reviews its services and practices to ensure both quality and integrity being up to clients’ expectations. We provide individual patient care through a well-trained frontline. Senior nurses act as ‘patient ambassadors’, easily identifiable for any immediate enquiries from patients and their families. A ‘named nurse system’ is also in place, ensuring that each nurse is designated and personally responsible for a number of patients on wards. We are the first and only private hospital to incorporate a “Hospitality Service Training” programme offered and adapted by Grand Hyatt, an internationally renowned hotel brand, in the on-the-job-training of all frontline staff.

The hospital is firmly committed to ensuring that the quality of service is up to internationally accepted standards. Since 2000, the hospital has been subjected to very close scrutiny by the British Trent Accreditation Board every two years. As a result, the hospital was awarded “Full Accreditation” for a period of two years in 2008 for the fifth time in a row. We also received commendations for the high standard of patient care and our commitment to delivering excellent health service. In 2010, the hospital was awarded the “EQuIP Accreditation” certificate by the ACHS. We were honoured to be the first hospital in Hong Kong to receive this international recognition, which is a major milestone of our continued pursuit of safe and high-quality healthcare services.

Tell us about the in-house specialist services initiative you are currently setting up. What are the goals for staff and patients alike? Where has the funding come from?
Part of the evolutionary process of HKSH in the past decade has been the development of clinical departments. Now with a team of over 100 in-house specialists encompassing all major medical services, HKSH has evolved from a facility provider to a fully fledged comprehensive hospital attending to all healthcare needs of the community from primary to tertiary care.

With the clinical departments in place, HKSH can expand its spectrum of expertise, extend service coverage and undertake clinical audits for quality assurance. Fee-transparency and price packages become more feasible as there is an array of specialists to deal with establishing guidelines for all doctors. Training and professional development are now organised in a systematic manner with the in-house specialists forming a league of trainers for other healthcare professionals in the HKSH community.

HKSH’s operation is fully supported on its own, without government funding or financial support from any external body. The major stakeholder of HKSH – in possession of over 90 percent of shares – is the Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation. All the revenue generated from the hospital’s services is poured back to the development of the hospital. The Foundation is also devoted to charities and development of local medical education by supporting research projects, providing scholarships as well as grants.

In 2011, the hospital installed Asia’s first TomoHD treatment system, and now with three systems in operation, HKSH is the largest TomoHD Centre in the world. What kind of treatment do you provide at your oncology centre? What research is currently ongoing?
HKSH is one of the world’s largest cancer treatment centres equipped with three TomoHD systems and a full range of treatment options, with the ability to provide quality treatment for more patients.

In 2005, HKSH pioneered the first-in-Asia TomoTherapy treatment system, which combines image-guided radiation therapy and intensity-modulated radiation therapy. Dr. Walton Li, medical superintendent of HKSH stated that: “HKSH is always committed to putting patients first, » endeavouring to introduce the latest medical technology to the city with the aim to improve the survival rate and the quality of life (QOL) of our patients.”

HKSH’s Comprehensive Oncology Centre (COC) offers holistic management for cancer patients. Patients at COC will  be seen by a team of specialists in surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology and haematology. A particular initiative was HKSH’s weekly tumour board meetings, which gathered dozens of specialists to evaluate the treatment plans and discuss the best possible options for individual patients.

HKSH attaches great importance to research projects that are seen to drive medical advances and improvement in treatment outcomes, which will eventually benefit our patients. HKSH has been very active in supporting research and presenting findings at international conferences.

Cancer genetics is also a significant research area at HKSH. In collaboration with Stanford University and the University of Hong Kong, HKSH participated in the first high-risk breast cancer screening project in Hong Kong in 2007, offering familial breast cancer screening services at the Cancer Genetics Centre. HKSH has actively participated in molecular pathological studies with the publication of around 20 academic papers so far.

The Molecular Pathology Laboratory of HKSH is on a par with a university research laboratory in terms of scale. The Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) introduced in November 2011 marked a major step towards the ultimate goal of ‘Personal Medical Genomic Profiling Services’, extending our genomic capacity to the provision of tailored treatments, precise diagnosis and accurate disease risk stratification to our patients.

HKSH completed its fourth “Walk for Vision” in March. What are some of the other ways to show its care within the community?
HKSH has been an active supporter of a wide-range of charity activities. Recently, the hospital has been encouraging its staff members to take part in voluntary services after work. “Village Volunteers” was established in April 2009 with an aim to support and serve disadvantaged citizens in the community.

“HKSH is committed to the betterment of social wellbeing. That is why we focus on supporting medicine-related charities and non-profit organisations. We hope that we can give our very best to the public in our professional capacity,” says Dr. Joseph Chan, deputy medical superintendent of HKSH and Chairman of ‘Village Volunteers’ programme.

‘Village Volunteers’ has taken part in various community activities, such as visiting homes of the elderly and institutions for the mentally handicapped and the physically disabled, and other fund-raising activities such as the annual walkathon, “Walk for Vision”.

Subsequently, HKSH was awarded the ‘Caring Company Logo’ in March 2011 for the first time.

A social prestige in itself, the ‘Caring Company Logo’ serves as recognition for the hospital’s contribution to community services. Advocated by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, the ‘Caring Company Scheme’ is committed to building a cohesive society by promoting strategic partnerships among businesses and social service partners, while inspiring corporate social responsibility through caring of the community, employees and the environment. Just like its resolute commitment to quality medical services, HKSH’s enthusiasm for community wellbeing will always light the way for the hospital in future.

What are some of the opportunities HKSH offers with its teaching programmes?
For nursing education, HKSH offers thorough training from enrolled nurses and registered nurses to post-graduate levels. HKSH has had its own School of Nursing since 1927, having trained over 2,000 nurses at its own expenses through the years. From 2005-2011, HKSH collaborated with the Open University of Hong Kong to organise a Bachelor in Nursing programme, and since 2008, HKSH collaborated with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University to offer a Master of Nursing programme for non-nursing degree holders.

Together with the enrolled nurse training programmes offered by the School of Nursing, HKSH helps provide around 100 new nurses every year, not only for the hospital itself but also for other healthcare institutions in Hong Kong. For continuous nursing education at the hospital, HKSH offers scholarships to enrolled nurses to study conversion courses to become registered nurses. In 2011, HKSH also pledged a multi-million, five-year professional training scheme by University of California, Los Angeles School of Nursing, for its senior nursing staff.

For its medical education, since 1998 HKSH has been in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong (HKU) with a “Medical Student Teaching Programme”, in which all medical students are required to spend one week in HKSH as part of their curriculum, and since 2010 an additional week is also required as part of the Orthopaedics training programme.
HKSH also offers “Postgraduate Training for Doctors” in family medicine, surgery, ophthalmology and orthopaedics. HKSH is the only private hospital with an accredited family medicine training centre to offer a six-year speciality training programme since 2001, where 10 fellows were trained. For the speciality training programmes in surgery, ophthalmology and orthopaedics, each doctor spends three months in HKSH as part of their higher training with sponsorships paid for by HKSH.

HKSH has made generous donations in support of medical education. In 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012, HKSH donated HK$4om to establish four Endowed Professorships to the University of Hong Kong. Since 2010, an annual donation of HK$15m to HKU’s Faculty of Medicine has been made in support of training of doctors and research. A UCLA Fellowship is also installed to sponsor HKU doctors for training at the UCLA.

Looking towards your centenary, what are the particular achievements the hospital has achieved over the years, and how will you be celebrating the landmark?
From a humble nursing home with 28 beds, today the hospital has over 400 beds and numerous speciality centres, committed to meeting and exceeding patients’ and doctors’ expectations. As embodied in its motto “Quality in Service, Excellence in Care”, it has always been, and will continue to be, the hospital’s mission to strive for the best medical treatment and hospital care for our patients with state-of-the-art equipment, a pleasant environment, whole-person care and most importantly, highly trained staff.

To celebrate its 90th anniversary, HKSH has kicked off a yearlong celebration campaign for its 2,000 members of staff, patients and families, partner organisations, media and the public about the hospital’s vision for the region. Specific events include:
– A fundraising ‘Walk for Vision’ in March to showcase our corporate social responsibility
Dr. Li Shu Fan Oration in May to raise public awareness about quality healthcare and the long-time contribution of HKSH to the community
– Li Shu Pui Symposium in June to provide a platform for academic exchange among healthcare professionals to continue HKSH’s contribution in the advancement in community health and future medical advances
– Finally, a grand celebration in September will be a finale of the anniversary year as well as a starting point of the exciting centenary period.

What measures are you looking to put in place for the hospital to become the medical centre of excellence in Hong Kong? Are there any future projects in the pipeline?
HKSH will continue to uphold its motto “Quality in Service, Excellence in Care” which embodies our core belief in the provision of healthcare services. The hospital plans to realise this motto with the concepts of 3Ts: ‘Teaching’, ‘Teamwork’ and ‘Trust’. HKSH aspires to become a centre of excellence in services, training and research towards the centenary.

Major initiatives in the next couple of years include the redevelopment and expansion of the hospital’s service capacity. Private hospitals can make a bigger contribution if they have sufficient hospital beds available. As a result, we are planning to move from multi-bed wards to single-bed rooms to optimise patient safety, infection control and environmental conditions for promoting recovery. Another key project would be the introduction of Proton Therapy, the latest technology in the fight against cancer. “We have spent several years studying the introduction of the proton therapy system. HKSH will be the first to launch Proton Therapy System into Hong Kong to further augment our armamentarium for cancer treatment”, said Mr Wyman Li, HKSH’s administration manager.

The hospital’s long-term vision is to be an internationally recognised healthcare provider offering the most advanced medical technology; highly skilled and knowledgeable professionals and a patient-focused culture. To ensure this, HKSH will continue to attract, retain and develop the best people by providing professional education, training and research in the healthcare service sector.