The public hospital complex in Cotai, officially known as Islands Healthcare Complex, will open in the fourth quarter of next year, but no nighttime emergency services will be provided in the initial stage of its operation, Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council Deputy Convener Lam Ka Chun said yesterday.
Lam made the remarks during a press briefing after the council’s regular closed-door meeting at the Community Integrated Building in Coloane’s Seac Pai Van public housing estate.
The government-appointed council asked Health Bureau (SSM) officials to brief them about the Cotai hospital complex’s facilities and its future operation during yesterday’s meeting.
Lam said that initially after the Cotai hospital complex comes into service, emergency services will only be available during the daytime due to a shortage of medical personnel. Lam quoted the officials as saying that the government is still to decide when nighttime emergency services will become available.
The government has said that the Cotai hospital project is slated to be completed later this year.
Lam quoted the officials as saying that the Cotai hospital complex is expected to be transferred to the Health Bureau in October or November, when the bureau can start installing medical equipment and facilities.
According to Lam, the Health Bureau officials said during yesterday’s meeting that the Cotai hospital complex will be equipped with about 1,100 beds. The hospital will also be equipped with various new kinds of facilities such as nuclear medicine equipment and a radiotherapy centre with the aim of meeting residents’ increasing healthcare needs.
The Cotai hospital complex will be operated by Peking Union Medical College Hospital (aka Beijing Xiehe Hospital). The government has said that despite being operated by a third-party institution, the Cotai hospital complex will “by nature” still be a public hospital. The government has also said that the Macau government’s cooperation with Peking Union Medical College Hospital will be of a non-commercial nature.
95 percent of services to be public
Lam quoted the officials as saying yesterday that 95 percent of the services provided in the Cotai hospital complex will be public health services, where the charges will be the same as those in the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, while the remaining five percent will be private health services, where 30 to 50 beds will be available. However, according to Lam, the officials did not disclose what the Cotai hospital complex’s private health services will cover and how it will be priced.
Another deputy convenor of the council, Liu Fengming, said during yesterday’s briefing that with less than two years still left before the Cotai hospital complex’s operation, some council members voiced concerns over whether there will be sufficient medical professionals.
Liu also said that Peking Union Medical College Hospital will be directly responsible for recruiting and training health professionals for the Cotai hospital. The Health Bureau officials quoted Peking Union Medical College Hospital representatives as saying that those intending to work in the Cotai hospital must study medical science for at least eight years to be considered for a job.
Liu also quoted the officials as saying that the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre does not have nuclear medicine equipment or a radiotherapy centre, because of which, she said, the respective patients will be transferred to the Cotai hospital complex in the future.
400 parking spaces
A fellow member of the council, Chio Man Im, said during yesterday’s briefing that some council members were also concerned about the availability of transportation serving the Cotai hospital. Chio quoted the officials as saying that concerning public transportation, there will be a Light Rail Transit (LRT) station – on the future Seac Pai Van LRT section – which will be connected to the hospital by a enclosed corridor. Concerning those who drive, Chio said, there will be a four-storey car park at the Cotai hospital, with a total of 400 parking spaces for cars and motorcycles/scooters.
The Islands Healthcare Complex comprises seven buildings in two phases – six buildings in the first phase and one in the second phase.
Lam also said that according to the initial design of the Cotai hospital complex, a helipad would have been set up on the rooftop of one of the buildings in the complex. However, Lam quoted the officials as saying that the government has slightly revised the design according to which the helipad project has meanwhile been dropped due to the official aviation height limit in the area.
This undated handout photo taken from the Infrastructure Development Office’s (GDI) website yesterday shows the ongoing Cotai hospital complex project.
Deputy conveners of the Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council, Lam Ka Chun (centre) and Liu Fengming (right), as well as Chio Man Im, a member of the government-appointed council, pose after a closed-door regular meeting of the council at the Seac Pai Van Community Integrated Building yesterday. Photo: Ginnie Liang
