Community & Charities
Medical and Health
Club grants funding of over HK$1.2 billion to establish Hong Kong’s first purpose-built cancer-specific research and service centre
30/06/2017
Cancer is the number one killer in Hong Kong according to latest statistics released by the Government, accounting for 31% of total deaths in 2015.
In the 2016 policy address, the government announced a 10-year hospital development blueprint, under which the 60-year-old Grantham Hospital would be redeveloped as a free-standing, academic ambulatory centre focussed on cancer services by integrating clinical services, teaching and research.
With this in mind, the Club’s Charities Trust announced on 28 June a donation of over HK$1.244 billion to The University of Hong Kong (HKU) to establish the city's first purpose-built cancer-specific research and service centre at the redeveloped Grantham Hospital. The donation is not only the Club's single largest to the medical sector in the 2016/17 financial year, but also the single largest ever received by the university.
The Club's funding will be used to set up a Centre for Clinical Innovation and Discovery (CCID) and an Institute of Cancer Care (ICC), and support their pre-commissioning programmes. The establishment of these two institutions as part of the redevelopment of Grantham Hospital represents an important milestone. Bringing together cancer research, advanced cancer therapies and cancer-related care services under one roof will facilitate the speedy transfer of research findings into practical bedside solutions.
The CCID and ICC are scheduled for completion in 2024. The CCID will be equipped with cutting-edge facilities and equipment to carry out research, focusing on genomics and DNA technologies to understand the causes of cancer. It will also undertake clinical research to develop precision diagnosis and medicine, advance the treatment of cancer and formulate new strategies for disease prevention.
Co-located with the CCID, the ICC will focus on studying and providing care for the psychosocial and psychological needs of cancer patients and their families/caregivers. It will also develop evidence-based psycho-oncological practices to address the unmet demand for comprehensive, high-quality clinical care across the whole of Hong Kong, ensuring seamless cancer services from prevention, diagnosis and treatment to rehabilitation and survivor care.
Some of the cancer research projects and services will be progressively commenced before completion of the construction project, such as a colon cancer prevention and screening programme, psychosocial health screening, symptom management and monitoring, and public education. With more than 220,000 people a year visiting the facility on its completion, the CCID and ICC will benefit patients, caregivers, students and the general public alike.
The Club has long been committed to supporting local medical development. Examples include funding the establishment of the Centre for Health Protection in reaction to the SARS outbreak in 2003, thereby helping Hong Kong prevent and fight epidemics; a HK$1.3 billion donation to The Chinese University of Hong Kong to establish a teaching hospital that will provide high-quality and affordable medical services for sandwich-class patients; and supporting the Hospital Authority's implementation of the Jockey Club Inpatient Facilities Modernisation Scheme, which involves the installation of ceiling hoists and electrically-operated beds at all public hospitals in Hong Kong.
