The Department of Medicine was established at the opening of the United Christian Hospital in 1973. It was subsequently renamed as Department of Medicine and Geriatrics. Our department has a humble beginning with just a handful of clinicians from local and overseas. Yet, they uphold and practice the motto of our hospital "With Christian Love We Care. With Excellence We Serve". This spiritual legacy was passed down through generations and integrated into our Department's DNA. Our department culture and character remained steadfast irrespective of tremendous service expansion and technological advances.
Throughout our department’s history, we have come through multiple crises, notably the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from such emergency situations, we have to tackle escalating demands in service volume and expectation with limited resources. We braved these storms and challenges through the endeavour, wisdom, solidarity and sacrifices of our dedicated colleagues.
The brotherhood spirit and our strive for service innovation were well illustrated by the two Outstanding Team Awards conferred to our Department by the Hospital Authority. In 2006, the Extra Mile Movement (EMM) was a voluntary and self-initiated group of colleagues who worked beyond their call of duties to serve fellow co-workers at times of extreme stress during the winter surge period. In 2009, the Service Load Integrated Management (SLIM) revamped our service model and greatly enhanced our ambulatory and community services to reduce the tremendous stress on in-patient beds.
We embrace our hospital's heritage as a ‘hospital without walls’. This is manifested not only in providing seamless patient services, but also in our department’s efforts in reducing barriers between seniors and juniors and fostering synergy among teams. Many of our Department's successful innovations and initiatives were accomplished through collaboration with nursing and various healthcare professionals and other departments.
Taking stock of the first half century of our department’s history and heritage, we will not forget our original intention and we will continue our journey of learning, innovating, serving and caring.
