Past and present of PWH

A cradle for Hong Kong midwives

The School of Midwifery of PWH is currently the only institute that trains midwives in Hong Kong, and more than 2,000 midwives have been trained since its establishment in 1987. The school extended the duration of its programme from 12 months to 18 months in 2002 to provide trainees with more diverse clinical experience and to further improve the standards of midwifery practice. The school recruits students in May and November each year, offering professional training for aspiring midwives.

Flame tree symbolises the gift of life

A spectacular six-metre-high flame tree towers over a garden in the middle of old buildings that connects the hospital to the student dormitory. The Tree of Life Garden was established in 2010 to honour the compassion shown by organ donors in Hong Kong. A sculpture in the garden called ‘Blooming’ signifies the continuing lives of transplant patients after the generous acts of donors. The transplant surgery at PWH enjoys a high reputation in the world. It had set up the first paediatric transplant support group in 1993, and performed the first paediatric liver transplant from a close relative in Southeast Asia.

Heroes in the SARS frontline

Healthcare workers at PWH were hailed by Time Magazine as 2003 Asian Heroes for their efforts to save the lives of SARS victims. The then Premier Wen Jia-bao visited PWH in June of that year to pay tribute to frontline staff and wrote a message of encouragement: ‘Salute to the healthcare workers.’

Keeping Olympic equestrians safe

Equestrian events were staged in Hong Kong when Beijing hosted the 2008 Olympics. Because of its proximity to competition venues in Sha Tin and Beas River, as well as the Olympic Village, PWH was the designated hospital for athletes as well as for team members and volunteers from Hong Kong and overseas. Over the course of the month-long games, 57 patients were treated at PWH’s A&E Department, nine of them were Olympic or Paralympic competitors.

Learning Vietnamese for easy communication

The Whitehead refugee detention centre in Wu Kai Sha was set up in 1989 by the government to deal with an influx of Vietnamese refugees arriving in Hong Kong. The centre had accommodated as high as 20,000 refugees at peak times. PWH had received many Vietnamese pregnant women as it was the only hospital to provide obstetrics & gynaecology service in the New Territories East at that time. PWH arranged for Vietnamese interpreters to support them, and some healthcare workers even learned basic Vietnamese so they could communicate with patients.

Interview video