The Hong Kong Children’s Hospital (HKCH) is a dream-come-true for many paediatricians, sick children and their families.
The birth of this first-ever children's hospital in Hong Kong has sparked up a golden opportunity to review the overall paediatric services in Hospital Authority (HA).
Currently, there are 13 paediatric departments in HA hospitals providing a wide range of secondary and tertiary services. With the establishment of HKCH, we aim at improving the overall quality of care for our sick children through re-organising the existing paediatric services into a co-ordinated network in the public healthcare system of Hong Kong.
An integrated model will also be developed to achieve the tripartite mission on clinical service, research and teaching in HKCH.
Centralising where necessary to improve outcome and localising where possible to improve access are the guiding principles of service planning. A co-ordinated continuum of networked services will therefore be built to put our children at the centre of care and to meet their healthcare needs with more accessible and safer services.
Phased implementation approach will be adopted for service commissioning, so as to validate the care model, iron out clinical workflow and ensure patient safety.
Planning of this paediatric services network required in-depth discussion. Since 2013, over 20 Clinical Work Groups (CWG) have been formed under the project governance for service and manpower planning of their respective service areas. More than 250 experienced clinicians, professors and executives have contributed their wisdom and vision.
The current service plan is to centralise children cancer, cardiac and renal services in HKCH upon its service commencement in 2018. Integrated peri-operative service and clinical genetic service will also be provided. Other clinical and supporting services including neonatal and paediatric intensive care, anaesthesia, pathology, radiology and emergency transport service will be made ready. Service model for other paediatric sub-specialties as well as general paediatric services will also be developed to facilitate the phased implementation.
A hub-and-spoke model will be adopted upon HKCH commissioning in 2018. HKCH will serve as a tertiary referral centre for managing complex, serious and rare paediatric cases requiring multi-disciplinary intervention. While, the other HA hospitals will provide emergency, secondary and step-down paediatric services in their respective communities.
The hub-and-spoke model is named after a bicycle wheel, referring to a strong central hub with a series of connecting spokes. The HKCH hub-and-spoke model represents a strong paediatric network between HKCH and other hospitals in HA.
In the coming issues, we are going to publish a series of feature stories on the progress of service planning. The first one is about children cancer service.
Children cancer patients in HA are currently receiving their treatments in five designated centres, namely Queen Mary Hospital (QMH), Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) and Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH).
Upon HKCH service commissioning in 2018, the five cancer centres will be translocated to HKCH. It will be the onestop children cancer centre in the public healthcare system in Hong Kong, taking care of patients from the stage of diagnosis, treatment to long term follow-up.
To fulfill this mission, HKCH will set up a multi-disciplinary team formed by oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, anaesthesiologists, surgeons, intensivists, general paediatricians, nurses, allied health professionals and paramedics to ensure an integrated service approach for a smooth patient journey with holistic care. Designated facilities in relation to the children cancer service will be provided including Oncology Wards, Ambulatory Day Chemotherapy Centre, Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and Laboratory.
It is often a long and difficult journey for the whole family when a child is diagnosed with cancer. Through the onestop cancer service in HKCH, our patients and their families will no longer need to visit different hospitals for various procedures and treatments, minimising the inconvenience caused to them and also ensuring the continuity of care.
Better support will be provided by the special physical design and children-friendly elements that have been incorporated in the Hospital. Collaboration with our patient groups and NGOs will be continued to engage and empower our sick children and their families.
Furthermore, with the concentration of children cancer care and pooling of involved expertise, HKCH will serve as an excellent platform for research and teaching. The research innovations and breakthroughs will bring clinical benefits to our children, as well as to support the breeding of future medical professionals for succession of expertise to take care of our future generations.
Clinical Work Group (CWG) is a platform for experienced clinicians to discuss the service and manpower plan of their respective specialties / sub-specialties. Over 20 CWGs have been formed with more than 250 members involving in the discussion. Members of the CWG on Paediatric Haematology & Oncology are:
• Prof Godfrey CHAN. QMH COS(PAED), Commissioning Service Co-ordinator (Co-chair)
• Dr C K LI, PWH C(CS) / NTEC CCP(PAED) / PWH COS(PAED) (Co-chair)
• Dr S Y HA, QMH CON(PAED)
• Dr H L YUEN, QEH CON(PAED)
• Dr C W LUK, QEH CON(PAED)
• Dr SC LING, PMH CON(PAED&AM)
• Dr Vincent LEE, PWH AC(PAED)
• Dr C H LI, TMH AC(PAED&AM)
Chief of Service (Paediatrics), Queen Mary Hospital, Commissioning Service Co-ordinator (Paediatric Oncology) since May 20I5. Prof CHAN is responsible for leading the service re-organisation, formulation of service model and the manpower and training plan for the children cancer service in HKCH.
“"We……take from our past to enrich our present, and we add our past and our present to our future just to make it better…" Situations In Our Whole Life - by MOHAMMAD SKATl
We have around 160 to 190 newly diagnosed childhood cancer cases each year in Hong Kong. Comparing to adults' cancer statistics, this is indeed a very small number. Therefore, only a few paediatricians in five HA hospitals have been devoting their career to this "Cinderella Specialty". To share the clinical experience, local paediatricians with special interest in oncology have formed a study group since early 90's. Disease-specific treatment protocols were then unified among the five designated centres. However, uneven distribution of case load was observed, resulting in imbalanced training opportunity for our juniors.
The establishment of a single paediatric cancer unit in Hong Kong Children 's Hospital (HKCH) will likely solve the current problems and ultimately benefit our patients and younger generation of paediatric oncologists. Current focus of preparatory work includes arranging appropriate overseas training for the young fellows and enhancing the staff exposure and communication among the five designated centres prior to the commencement of HKCH.
Arrangement of sub-specialty responsibilities among seniors has also been planned. I hope these preparatory works can facilitate our colleagues' adjustment process and also implementation of up-to-date management culture. In addition, collaboration with other disciplines and specialties, e.g. allied health services, radiology and pathology etc., is important to plan and commission the overall children cancer service. Despite a lot of challenges foreseen, with the united spirit among those involved in childhood cancer care, I am optimistic and looking forward to a smooth transition to HKCH.”
Consultant (Paediatrics), Prince of Wales Hospital
Co-chair, Clinical Work Group (Paediatric Haematology & Oncology)
“Children's hospital is the dream of several generations of Hong Kong paediatricians. When I was a medical student in the 70s, our Professor of Paediatrics already started advocating for a children's hospital in Hong Kong. I am delighted to see the dream finally came true and am honoured to contribute to the success of this project, by serving in the Clinical Work Group (Paediatric Haematology & Oncology).
HKCH will be equipped with advanced facilities for children with cancer, having homely environment with excellent isolation facilities, radioactive protection rooms and stem cell transplant unit.
More important is a dedicated team of staff, including doctors, nurses and allied health workers, which is specially trained to provide high quality of care, and targets to raise the level of care by further sub-specialisation. Training and research will be the essential components to strive for excellence.”
Resident (Paediatrics), HKCH
HA Corporate Scholarship 2015/16 awardee, currently under training at SickKids
“As a young paediatric fellow, I am very happy to play a part in HKCH. Apart from providing high quality clinical care, HKCH will be an ideal training ground for the next generation of paediatricians. Working together with other dedicated and passionate colleagues in HKCH in the future, synergy will be created to provide the best child and family centred care.
I am much honoured to receive scholarship for the clinical fellowship in Paediatric Oncology at SickKids, Canada. I have gained valuable experience by working closely with the medical team, which will also inspire and motivate me to become a better paediatrician.”
Chief Nursing Officer, HKCH Commissioning Team
“The Paediatric Oncology nursing team, with members from five existing hospitals, will be one of the most diversified team in HKCH. As the Chief Nursing Officer of HKCH, I will do my best to support fellow nurses to get prepared for this challenge through training and to build up a supportive working environment. Together we will contribute our best to the sick children and their parents. “To cure sometimes; To relief often; To care always"”
Dietitian, HKCH
“Good nutrition is important for patients because it helps them feel better and stay stronger. As a dietitian, I understand each patient has different nutrition needs and will do my best to walk through this recovery journey with them. It is most rewarding to witness and contribute to the recovery of our patients. I look forward to working in HKCH because I enjoy taking care of kids. HKCH also offers tremendous opportunities for professional development and exploration.”
Senior Radiographer, HKCH
“When the going gets tough, the tough gets going." "CHALLENGE" is the word that comes to mind when I envision HKCH. The future of our sick kids, especially those with cancer, will rest upon our care. As a provider of radiology service in HKCH, "Caring, Carer and Cutting edge services" would be my vision. Though the road is long and winding, with colleagues bearing the same mission and passion, we can help our patients to thrive as a healthy kid embracing a bright future.”
To complement with the “Green Hub" planning theme of Kai Tak Development, the design of HKCH has adopted many environmentally friendly initiatives and green building features to promote energy conservation and sustainability of the Hospital.
• Maximise greenery coverage to reduce heat island effect and improve micro-climate of the hospital environment
• Interconnected greening elements and landscaped spaces at various locations to create a naturalistic environment which is conducive to patient healing
• Podium-free design with optimised building form to enhance air ventilation in pedestrian environment
• Atrium in the centre of the building to maximise natural lighting to the interior spaces
• Adoption of District Cooling System for the central air-conditioning with automatic demand control of chilled water circulation system and fresh air supply with carbon dioxide sensors
• Comply with Excellent Class of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) objectives for offices and public spaces
• Use of environmentally friendly building materials and products with high recycled content
• Reduction in overall energy use by high efficiency mechanical plants and electrical installations, insulating building facade, optimisation on demand, use of renewable energy (e.g. Photovoltaic panels, solar hot water system)
• Rainwater and condensate water recycling system for irrigation use to reduce water consumption
• Electric vehicle (EV) charging facility available in car park
HKCH project has achieved the Platinum Rating of Provisional Assessment under the BEAM Plus NB [VI .2] by the Hong Kong Green Building Council limited on I0th July 2015.
Dr Libby LEE, Chief Manager (Strategy, Service Planning & Knowledge Management)
Dr Lily CHIU, Consultant (Commissioning / Hong Kong Children's Hospital)
Dr Niko TSE, Hong Kong Children's Hospital Commissioning Service Co-ordinator (Paediatric Nephrology)
Dr Jennifer KHOO, Hong Kong Children's Hospital Commissioning Service Co-ordinator (Radiology)
Dr AU Cheuk-chung, Resident (Paediatrics), Hong Kong Children's Hospital
Dr CHAN Yu Hin Eugene, Resident (Paediatrics), Hong Kong Children's Hospital
Ms Cynthia CHAN, Manager (Corporate Communication / Communication & Publications)
Dr Sharon WONG, Senior Manager (Strategy & Service Planning)
Ms June WONG, Manager (Strategy & Service Planning)
Copyright @ 2015 Hospital Authority.
We welcome comments and suggestions, please email to us at hkch@ha.org.hk
Read the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital Newsletter online at www.ha.org.hk/hkch/