Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine is the largest clinical department in HKCH. Its first Chief of Service, Prof. Godfrey Chan, was part of the force advocating for a children’s hospital in Hong Kong since the 2000s. "It was the dream of generations of paediatricians." When the hospital was finally ready to open, he took up the challenging position, "Because it was so important to build a good hospital culture. If we started off on the wrong foot, it would be difficult to change later."

Prof. Chan always seems to take everything in stride, balancing clinical work, research, management and patient rights advocacy with a calm demeanor. Little did one know about his pressure during the early days. "The complexity of paediatric service translocation was unprecedented. Once patients were transferred here, there was no undo button. We must operate at 100%. I was constantly worried and people would call me at night for various problems. Only after Cardiology moved in two years later was I able to feel a sense of relief."

Another challenge was to integrate staff coming from different hospitals and align their practice. Having two universities working under the same roof was also a first. Prof. Chan upheld the principles of fairness, open communication, and putting the right people in the right seats. "Colleagues who choose to come to HKCH are full of passion. My task was to allocate resources to support the good service proposals by different teams impartially to ensure public money was well spent. I also hoped colleagues would feel happy working here." Prof. Chan gave himself 70 marks, saying he has left no big regrets and the culture in his mind has already taken shape.

▲Dr Rosanna Wong (left) thanks Prof. Godfrey Chan for building a solid foundation for the department. Prof. Chan shares that holding a more accepting attitude would allow colleagues more room to develop.

Dr Rosanna Wong has been in charge of Neonatology and Gastroenterology. The commissioning experience motivated her to take on a bigger responsibility. "After learning about the breadth and depth of different aspects of hospital operation, I wish to contribute more to the hospital and support colleagues' growth and development in another way."

Dr Wong is excited for her new role, "All our teams have many developments going on, from multidisciplinary services within HKCH to collaboration and mutual support with regional hospitals. It is really meaningful to witness all these happenings."

To enhance doctors' clinical knowledge and skills, Dr Wong plans to arrange rotation for residents to the paediatric departments of other hospitals, and resume overseas training and exchanges to broaden doctors' horizons. She also looks forward to working with the new acute hospital in Kai Tak to provide a more comprehensive service to children.

Services under Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine

▲Staff of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine