The new Kai Tak Hospital (KTH), Hong Kong’s largest hospital in terms of bed capacity and total floor area, is set to become a future healthcare hub in Kowloon after it opens on October 5, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said on Thursday.
Lo and Under Secretary for Health Cecilia Fan Yuen-man visited the soon-to-open KTH on Thursday to learn about its facilities and the preparatory work and service arrangements for the first phase of its operations.
"KTH will replace Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) as the flagship hospital of the Kowloon Central Cluster, with services covering Yau Tsim Mong, Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong districts, serving a population of more than 1.8 million,” Lo said.
“It will become a future healthcare hub in Kowloon, collaborating with other hospitals in the region to further optimize the overall healthcare services in Kowloon.”
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With a total gross floor area of 500,000 square meters with 2,400 beds, KTH will become the largest public hospital in Hong Kong upon full commissioning, Lo said.
The hospital will commence services in two phases, gradually absorbing majority of the clinical services from QEH.
Accompanied by Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority Libby Lee Ha-yun and other health officials, Lo visited the facilities in KTH's specialist out-patient clinic and oncology blocks that will open in the first phase of its operations.
These cover the Family Medicine Integrated Centre (FMIC), Specialist Out-patient Clinics, the Oncology Day Centre, and the Patient Resource Centre.
"Scheduled to commence services on October 5, the FMIC of KTH will be the first clinical project to be launched at the hospital," Lo said. "It will provide extra family medicine consultation quotas, thereby enhancing diagnosis and treatment for patients suffering from chronic and episodic diseases."
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He said the FMIC will also provide multidisciplinary care, allied health services, chronic disease prevention and management, and other supporting services, further strengthening primary healthcare services in Kowloon District.
Lo and Fan also inspected the construction work of the second phase of KTH, which covers the hospital’s remaining three blocks, namely the Acute Block, the Administration Block, and the Education and Training Block.
The construction work is on schedule and other clinical services, including the Accident and Emergency Department, in-patient and surgery services, are expected to start in 2028.
