Matilda International Hospital
Encyclopedia
Matilda International Hospital (明德國際醫院) is a hospital in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 located at 41 Mount Kellett Road, The Peak
Victoria Peak
Victoria Peak is a mountain in Hong Kong. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak. The mountain is located in the western half of Hong Kong Island...

. The hospital was built as a result of the last will and testament of Granville Sharp, the husband of Matilda Lincolne Sharp. Granville Sharp was a highly successful banker descended from the well known Sharp family of Romsey, England, another member of which was Conversation Sharp.. Matilda Lincolne is thought by some to have been related to the US President's family.

History

Originally from the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, the couple travelled a long way, encountering many adventures (including shipwreck) along their way, before arriving in Hong Kong.

The hospital admitted its first patients in 1907, at that time providing free care to mainly expatriates. The original building, which is still in use today, is outstandingly beautiful, as is the hospital's location on "the Peak" on Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...

.

In the past it was known as the Matilda Memorial & War Hospital, but nowadays, it has been renamed Matilda International Hospital, and is a not-for-profit hospital serving all the people of Hong Kong and the wider region. It provides four core services: maternity, orthopaedic, surgical, health assessment and health services. Its medical staff are among the highest earning doctors in the Pacific area.

The Matilda Medical Centre (MMC) was opened in the Central area of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 to mark the hospital's centenary celebration in 2007, and extend its quality services to downtown Central serving many of its corporate clients.

In Feb 2010 the state-of-the-art new OT5 was opened to provide fully integrated system and facilities for mainly orthopaedic & spine surgeries.

Matilda International Hospital used to be surveyed and accredited bi-annually by the Trent Accreditation Scheme
Trent Accreditation Scheme
The Trent Accreditation Scheme , , was a British accreditation scheme formed with a mission to maintain and continually evaluate standards of quality, especially in health care delivery, through the surveying and accreditation of health care organisations, especially...

 of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, a major international healthcare accreditation
International healthcare accreditation
Due to the near-universal desire for quality healthcare, there is a growing interest in international healthcare accreditation. Providing healthcare, especially of an adequate standard, is a complex and challenging process...

 group. In 2010 the Matilda decided to leave behind its British roots and instead to look towards the Australia Certificate of Healthcare Services (ACHS) scheme, becoming accredited by them in Dec 2010. The hospital has also adopted the ISO 9001:2008 certification, a non-clinically orientated quality management system.

Insurance

With its clientale skewed towards the middle upper classes Matilda is well connected to global and local insurers and TPA's (Third Party Administrators) for directly billing services.

Problems

The hospital is not universally popular in Hong Kong, and the doctors working there have been accused of putting a high personal income ahead of patient care.http://biglychee.com/blog/2010/12/21/death-of-a-rumour-at-matilda-hospital/

An unusual death of a 16 year old American during a routine appendicectomy caused concern in 2006.http://www.mainstreetnews.com/2006/December/BE1213B.htmlhttp://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-156315397/inquest-into-us-girl.html.

In 2006, an enormous claim for damages related to an accusation of negligence during the delivery of a child was set underway.http://www.news24.com/World/News/Doc-sued-for-brain-damaged-girl-20061005

In 2011, the hospital refused to accept that it had responsibility for incomepetent activities by consultant surgeons making use of its facilities, and demanded the payments of large fees by a patient allegedly injured during treatment at the hospital.http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=dd60ac600653f210VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&ss=hong+kong&s=news

In popular culture

Scenes in the Oscar-winning movie, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (film)
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing is a 1955 American drama-romance film. Set in 1949-50 Hong Kong, it tells the story of a married, but separated, American reporter , who falls in love with a Eurasian doctor originally from China , only to encounter prejudice from her family and from Hong Kong...

, were filmed at the Matilda hospital.

See also

  • List of hospitals in Hong Kong
  • Health in Hong Kong
    Health in Hong Kong
    Hong Kong's medical infrastructure consists of a mixed medical economy, with 12 private hospitals and more than 50 public hospitals. There are also polyclinics that offer primary care services, including dentistry.-Overview:...

  • Royal Naval Hospital (Hong Kong)
    Royal Naval Hospital (Hong Kong)
    Royal Naval Hospital was the Royal Navy's medical facility in the colony.The RNH began in 1841 in a matshed on the site of the Wellington Barracks on Hong Kong Island. A typhoon destroyed the hospital and was temporarily located on the Minden, a third rate sailing ship...

  • First houses on the Peak
    First houses on the Peak
    Hong Kong's original Peak District was named the "Hill District". It included Mount Austin , Mount Gough, Mount Kellett and the area around Magazine Gap. Many homes were for summer use only, to escape the heat of Central, and were referred to as "bungalows"...


External links

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