Members of the local media visit the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital in Kowloon City on Thursday — the fourth day of a tour featuring China’s engineering prowess. (RAYMOND CHAN / CHINA DAILY)
Children in Hong Kong are able to enjoy a home-like experience while being treated at the special administrative region’s first children’s hospital built by a State-owned construction company.
Construction of the 468-bed Hong Kong Children’s Hospital in Kowloon City was undertaken by China State Construction International Holdings — a State-owned enterprise based in the special administrative region — that has also participated in the building of about 25 percent of the city’s hospital projects.
The hospital constructors shared their efforts to improve the health and well-being of local children with the nation’s visiting top engineering experts and the media. The visitors were on the fourth day of a six-day trip to Hong Kong.
The hospital, which began operations in 2018, is the first medical facility in Hong Kong to provide child-centric tertiary care for children with serious and life-threatening illnesses. It deals with complex and rare cases that are transferred there by other public hospitals and private doctors.
“The hospital has been the dream of Hong Kong pediatricians for more than 50 years,” said Lily Chiu Lee-lee, a former doctor and currently operations director of China State Construction International Medical Industry Development Corp Ltd (CSIM).
She recalled that before the hospital went into service, there was no specialized pediatric facility in Hong Kong, and children had to go to hospitals that were designed to serve adults.
The hospital is fully dedicated to children, and its child-friendly environment helps with patients’ recovery and anxiety relief, said Chiu, adding that anxiety and fear of children is not conducive to their recovery.
“It’s a hospital that doesn’t look like a hospital,” said Zhang Yi, chief executive officer of CSIM, who oversaw the hospital’s construction, which started in 2013.
With decorations of colorful cartoon characters, the hospital creates a non-institutional, home-like, child-friendly, comfortable environment that help ease anxiety, he said.
“On admission, children will be surprised and attracted by cartoon animal patterns, which will reduce their fear,” Zhang said.
Following the advice of psychologists, eight animal themes were chosen for the design of the hospital’s eight floors, such as giant pandas and kangaroos.
“The animals have smiling faces. We hope to help children with serious diseases to overcome stress, anxiety and frustration,” Zhang said.
The project took 48 months to complete, he said, adding that many materials have been transported after processing in the Chinese mainland and shipped to Hong Kong, he said.
With the design, Chiu said, children would say, “I’m going to the dolphin floor” instead of “I’m going to the intensive-care unit”. “This would create a happier environment.”
Chiu said her favorite animal character in the hospital is the kangaroo on the fourth floor, which symbolizes the close bonds between parents and children.
Winnie Ho Wing-yin, director of architectural services of the HKSAR government, said the hospital has been designed and built from the perspective of sick children and their families, reflecting the care for the patients.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, CSIM has designed and built four quarantine centers and two mainland-funded hospitals in Hong Kong, which have greatly strengthened the city’s defenses against the pandemic.
