Scope of Services

Located in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Kwong Wah Hospital is one of the medical centres under the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. The hospital was built in 1911 and has been providing healthcare services to members of the public for more than 100 years. The paediatric service was established in 1929 and is the longest serving paediatric department in Hong Kong.
In the early days, the paediatric service started with 16 beds, providing free healthcare services for newborns and infants below 6 months of age. The Department of Paediatrics was established in 1974 when Dr. Chung Shing Ha was appointed consultant. Today, the Department has evolved into a center with 134 beds covering prenatal to adolescent consultations and different subspecialties. The developments over the years are the result of hard work and dedication of generations of healthcare professionals who have served the Department.

The Paediatrics wards provide care for general paediatric patients as well as paediatric subspecialty patients with respiratory, neurological, endocrine, renal, gastroenterological and cardiovascular conditions. Paediatric patients in the wards are managed by specialists in paediatrics. Due to clinical need, Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) was established in 1982. Currently, the PICU has 4 beds, providing high quality care with survival rates on par with international standards.

The Neonatology Division comprises of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and a Special Care Baby Unit. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit consists of 8 beds with state-of-the-art medical equipment. These facilities enable our team of experienced healthcare professionals to provide quality healthcare to newborns in the community. The annual delivery in our hospital is around 5500/year.

To allow shorter hospitalization and early discharge, the Ambulatory Centre was established in 2014 to provide family-friendly, as well as one-stop inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary care for paediatric patients, decreasing the need for over-night admissions.

Also located in the Department of Paediatrics are the Paediatric Sleep Laboratory, Paediatric Endoscopy Centre, Paediatric EEG Centre and Paediatric Lung Function Laboratory that provide detailed assessment to children.



Figure 1. Paediatric Endoscopy Center
Our Paediatric Sleep Study Centre comprises of two separate rooms, enabling two patients to undergo polysomnography simultaneously in a comfortable and quiet environment. Since 2004, our sleep study service has been expanded to cover newborns. This was followed by the launch of one-stop sleep apnoea care in 2011 so that patients can receive accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment at one single location. With this expansion in services, paediatric patients who are diagnosed with sleep apnoea after relevant assessment are able to receive comprehensive treatment appropriate to their conditions.


Figure 2. Paediatric Sleep Study Centre
Our Paediatric Lung Function Laboratory is the only APPS accredited service in Asia. We offer a wide range of pulmonary function testing and exercise tests to assist physicians in diagnosing and managing patients with cardio-pulmonary problem.


Figure 3. Paediatric Lung Function Laboratory
Our Paediatric EEG Centre provides services to children with suspected or confirmed epilepsy, including diagnostic long term video EEG monitoring and liaison for neuro-psychological assessment.


Figure 4. Paediatric EEG Center
The Team
The healthcare team of the Department of Paediatrics conducts inter-disciplinary ward rounds with professionals from other departments in the hospital to discuss appropriate treatment plans for paediatric patients in need. Involved in these ward rounds are pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, radiologists and social workers. These ward rounds enable the provision of comprehensive and integrated care for paediatric patients with chronic health conditions. The ultimate goal is to facilitate their full recovery, to promote balanced physical and mental development and to enhance overall well-being.


Figure 5. Comprehensive multidisciplinary case management meetings
In the Department of Paediatrics, we care about children’s balanced physical and mental development. Our play assistant provides games and activities to reduce fear and anxiety in children hospitalised for in-patient care. The hospitalized children also receive personalized bed-side or group teaching conducted by Red Cross teachers during their hospital stay, to minimize disruption to their schooling.

Health Activities
Recognizing the importance of play and fun, we organise annual outdoor activities for some children with chronic health conditions and their parents. These activities include visits to theme parks, government departments and business organisations (e.g. Correctional Services Department, Government Flying Service Headquarters, Hong Kong Observatory, Hong Kong Wetland Park). Through these activities, children with chronic disease and their parents are encouraged to engage in regular outdoor activities.

We also set up a Preterm Babies Support Group in 2014 to provide support and assistance to parents of preterm infants, enabling them to overcome difficulties in the course of looking after their newborns. We have been conducting obesity programs and activities for children and adolescents since 1995. This year, we organized a well-received cooking class for obese adolescents. We also have been running successful Marathon training programs for obese adolescents for the last 3 years, in collaboration with Baptist University and supported by TWGH. We aim to help children make life-long changes in their lives to avoid long-term morbidity associated with obesity.

Health talks and workshop to parents of children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have been conducted jointly with clinical psychologist to provide better understanding of the condition and approach in behavioral training.


Figure 6. Health activities
Developments
In 2013, Paediatric Neurology centre was accredited as one of the paediatric neurology training centres in Hong Kong. In 2015, the Paediatric Respirology service successfully undertook stringent evaluation and obtained full accreditation for paediatric respiratory medicine training by the HK College of Paediatricians.
The Department of Paediatrics will strive to maintain the current level and scope of services during the reconstruction of KWH. We look forward to a better, child-centered ward environment and more advanced service in the new Department of Paediatrics.