In Hong Kong health care system, Tung Wah has been delivering its best services in coordination with the Government. With the support of the Government, Tung Wah contributes to the local health care system by upholding its mission “to heal the sick and to relieve the distressed”. It has been Tung Wah’s long standing tradition to provide medical services free or affordable to the needy in the community, and these services have been well received by the general public.
Since its establishment in 1870 and the enactment of the “Tung Wa Hospital Incorporation Ordinance”, Tung Wah Hospital had been ministering to the sick and the poor with free Chinese medication. The tradition of the provision of free medical services is cherished for all these years. Nowadays, Tung Wah provides fee waivers for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients for their medical expenses during hospitalization. Non-CSSA recipients with financial difficulties may approach the Medical Social Workers to apply for a waiver.
In fostering the traditional values of serving the needy, Tung Wah has been providing free general outpatient services for over a century. Being the oldest charitable organization with the provision of free medical services, Tung Wah’s Chinese and western general outpatient clinics provide more than 1 million free consultations to the local community every year.
Notwithstanding the escalating costs in recent years, Tung Wah strives to uphold its policy of providing free medical services:
- Provision of 600 free beds of which 200 are funded by the Government and the rest by Tung Wah
- Provision of free general and specialist outpatient services by paying the charges of these services to the Government
- Provision of free Chinese medicine outpatient services with the Health Department subsidizing part of the operation expenses
The Chinese medicine general outpatient clinics at Tung Wah Hospital and Kwong Wah Hospital provide free bone-setting and herbalist services for the public. Bone-setting services provide free consultation services and herbs paste dressing for external use. For free herbalist services, patients will be prescribed with a list of herbs and they have to purchase the herbs from herb shops in the market.
Every year, the Board of Directors organizes a number of fund-raising events to raise funds to fulfill Tung Wah’s pledge in the provision of free medical services. Among these fund-raising campaigns, the Free Medical Services Donation Scheme in collaboration with the Commercial Radio I is well known by the community. The generous support to free medical services illustrates the unfailing support of the general public to Tung Wah. Tung Wah really counts on your support and donations to finance our free medical services. (Please click here for more information on our fund-raising activities)
Western and Chinese outpatient clinics of Tung Wah providing free medical services.