The Health Bureau and the operator of The Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong today announced the hospital's service expansion plan, which includes launching 24-hour inpatient services on December 11 and introducing 10 additional special disease programmes by the end of the year.

Speaking on the development, Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau said that the hospital has made good progress in various areas, including healthcare services, training and education, research, collaboration and creating health values, since its service commencement last year.

Prof Lo noted that the provision of 24-hour inpatient services commencing in mid-December will further advance Hong Kong's Chinese medicine services from primary healthcare to secondary and tertiary healthcare services.

The hospital will roll out its 24-hour inpatient services in phases starting from December 11, covering both government-subsidised and market-oriented services. In the first phase, the hospital will provide 93 inpatient beds, 20 beds under its Clinical Trial & Research Centre, and two high dependency beds. By the end of 2030, the hospital will provide a total of 400 beds.

Outpatient and day-inpatient services will also expand progressively. The hospital’s annual outpatient service volume is expected to rise from 140,000 attendances in the first year to over 260,000 in the second year of operation while day-patient capacity will increase from 25 beds to 35 beds.

Radiological diagnostic and pathology laboratory services will be strengthened concurrently.

Separately, following the introduction of the Post-stroke Care Programme and the Low Back Pain Care Programme in July, the hospital will launch 10 additional special disease programmes in September and November. Other special disease programmes will be rolled out progressively.

The coverage under the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme will be extended to the hospital's inpatient services starting next year. Insurance companies will launch Certified Plans (Chinese Medicine) to provide an additional insurance option for members of the public who already hold Western medicine-based inpatient coverage.

There will be two types of Certified Plans (Chinese Medicine), namely the Standard Plan (Chinese Medicine), which covers the minimum compliance requirements, and the Flexi Plan (Chinese Medicine), which offers additional protection. All insurance companies in the scheme will be required to offer at least one Standard Plan (Chinese Medicine) for consumers' choice, with the relevant products targeted to roll out in phases starting from March 2027.